7-year-old girl falls out of moving SUV, fatally struck on California freeway

NEWHALL, Calif. — A 7-year-old girl died Saturday after falling from a moving SUV onto a Southern California freeway, the California Highway Patrol confirmed.

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According to the incident report, a 911 call was placed at around 3:30 a.m. local time about an “unknown object being struck,” blocking northbound traffic on Interstate 5, NBC News reported.

Meanwhile, the child’s mother, 28-year-old Veronda Gladney, of Lancaster, and her boyfriend, 39-year-old Michael Branch, of Hawthorne, were arrested Saturday on suspicion of child endangerment after the girl was found dead in the roadway, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing City News Service.

The girl was “struck by several vehicles,” according to the CHP statement.

According to troopers, Gladney was driving the 1999 Lincoln Navigator, Branch was a passenger and the girl, identified by troopers as Tanuneka Starnes, fell from one of the vehicle’s windows, the Times reported.

“As a result, she sustained fatal injuries,” the CHP report stated, noting that the circumstances surrounding the fall remain under investigation.

Gladney was charged with a felony and misdemeanor count each of child abuse causing death and a single felony count of vehicular manslaughter, KCBS-TV reported.

Meanwhile, Branch pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a single count of child abuse, a Los Angeles County District Attorney Office spokesperson confirmed to NBC News.

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