BY CHRIS SULLIVAN
KIRO Radio

A Kent toddler is the 18th child to be run over and killed by a driver backing up in the U.S. this year.

The 14-month-old boy got away from his caregivers and wandered outside his home, ending up in his neighbor's driveway.

An 18 year-old woman says she never saw the toddler before she put her car in reverse. The police arrived in three minutes, but they weren't able to save the boy. Investigators believe there is no evidence of a crime.

Would a rear-view cameras have prevented this accident and others like it?

The group Kids and Cars believes they can. It testified before a Department of Transportation panel Wednesday about the need to require rear-view cameras in all cars by 2014.

"Children are quick, and they are fast," director Janette Fannell told the panel. "We're not going to re-engineer the kids. We probably need to re-engineer the vehicles so we can see if they get in harm's way and prevent these tragedies from happening."

Kids and Cars told the panel that 50 kids a week are hit by drivers traveling in reverse, and 300 people are killed each year.

Chris Sullivan, 97.3 KIRO FM Reporter

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