Mom Arrested After Daughter, 7, Falls Out of Car Window and Is Fatally Run Over on Calif. Freeway

Mar. 15, 2025

A 7-year-old girl was killed after she fell out of a moving SUV going northbound on the 5 Freeway in Santa Clarita, California, early Saturday morning.The girl’s mother, Veronda Gladney, and her boyfriend, Michael Branch, were arrested for child endangerment, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) told local newspaperAntelope Valley Press.Gladney, 28, was driving the vehicle near Weldon Canyon Road around 3 a.m. when the incident occurred. Branch was a passenger in the SUV, according toABC7.Officers responded to the scene after receiving a call from a person who said a vehicle “had struck an unknown stationary object, which was blocking the roadway,” CHP toldNBC Los Angeles."[The girl] was in the very back portion of the 1999 Lincoln Navigator," CHP Officer Joshua Greengard told ABC7. “There were witnesses saying that she was either hanging out or playing in the back portion, the very very back portion of it. That window was already broken out, and it looks like she may have fallen out of the vehicle and then tragically died.“Kevork Djansezian/GettyOfficer Greengard also told the outlet that the girl was not strapped into a child seat when she fell out of the window.PEOPLE has reached out to the California Highway Patrol but did not immediately hear back.Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.Gladney was charged with one felony and one misdemeanor count of child abuse causing death, and a single felony count of vehicular manslaughter, Ricardo Santiago, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, told local outletHometown Station.Branch, 39, was charged with one misdemeanor count of child abuse. Both suspects pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, according to Santiago.“I’ve never had a kid falling out of a moving vehicle,” added Officer Greengard, per ABC7. “I’ve been to numerous tragedies in my time, but this one is very unfortunate. It’s very sad.“Officer Greengard said witnesses – including the drivers who hit the child, as well as Gladney – were all severely distressed at the scene.“From other officers, I know she was distraught also,” he said.The incident remains under investigation, and anyone with information is being urged to contact the CHP Newhall Area Office at 661-600-1600.

A 7-year-old girl was killed after she fell out of a moving SUV going northbound on the 5 Freeway in Santa Clarita, California, early Saturday morning.

The girl’s mother, Veronda Gladney, and her boyfriend, Michael Branch, were arrested for child endangerment, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) told local newspaperAntelope Valley Press.

Gladney, 28, was driving the vehicle near Weldon Canyon Road around 3 a.m. when the incident occurred. Branch was a passenger in the SUV, according toABC7.

Officers responded to the scene after receiving a call from a person who said a vehicle “had struck an unknown stationary object, which was blocking the roadway,” CHP toldNBC Los Angeles.

“[The girl] was in the very back portion of the 1999 Lincoln Navigator,” CHP Officer Joshua Greengard told ABC7. “There were witnesses saying that she was either hanging out or playing in the back portion, the very very back portion of it. That window was already broken out, and it looks like she may have fallen out of the vehicle and then tragically died.”

Kevork Djansezian/Getty

Officer Greengard also told the outlet that the girl was not strapped into a child seat when she fell out of the window.

PEOPLE has reached out to the California Highway Patrol but did not immediately hear back.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Gladney was charged with one felony and one misdemeanor count of child abuse causing death, and a single felony count of vehicular manslaughter, Ricardo Santiago, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, told local outletHometown Station.

Branch, 39, was charged with one misdemeanor count of child abuse. Both suspects pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, according to Santiago.

“I’ve never had a kid falling out of a moving vehicle,” added Officer Greengard, per ABC7. “I’ve been to numerous tragedies in my time, but this one is very unfortunate. It’s very sad.”

Officer Greengard said witnesses – including the drivers who hit the child, as well as Gladney – were all severely distressed at the scene.

“From other officers, I know she was distraught also,” he said.

The incident remains under investigation, and anyone with information is being urged to contact the CHP Newhall Area Office at 661-600-1600.

source: people.com