Baby escapes death after being thrown in front of Russian lorry

THE TELEGRAPH (UK) [23/01/13]

By Tom Parfitt, Moscow

A one-year-old girl has had a miraculous escape after being flung from the wreckage of a car during a high-speed accident in Russia and landing in the path of an oncoming truck. 

The dashboard camera of a following car recorded the moment of impact, when the infant’s body was tossed into the road near Nizhny Novgorod in western Russia. 

Moments later, the unnamed girl was snatched from the asphalt, apparently by the driver of the car she was riding in - who had lost control of his Mitsubishi and smashed backwards into a Scania truck, tearing off the rear part of the car. 

The child was jettisoned several yards and lay on all fours surrounded by debris, lifting one hand to hold the side of her head. Two oncoming trucks managed to decelerate and pass within feet of her before she was rescued. 

Police told Russia state television the child had been placed on a blanket on the parcel shelf under the rear window rather than being strapped into a seat. She was treated in hospital for bruises, concussion and a damaged lip but appeared to have escaped serious injury. 

Officers said the driver, Dmitry Aliev, 53, had illegally crossed a solid white line in order to perform the overtaking manoeuvre, and then lost control in icy conditons. 

Russia’s parliament is currently considering a law that will increase fines for not having a child seat or not strapping a child into one from 500 roubles (£10) to 5,000. In about 10 per cent of road accidents involving children in Russia the child is not strapped into a seat.