A woman is facing manslaughter and child neglect charges, six months after her 2-year-old son was struck and killed in a deadly crash
Credit: Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
NEED TO KNOW
- A woman in Florida is facing manslaughter and child neglect charges, six months after her 2-year-old son was struck and killed in a deadly crash
- Alejandra Cruz Segundo, 32, was charged with aggravated child manslaughter and neglect of a child following an October 2025 incident in which her son was struck and killed by a Ford F-450 pickup truck
- Authorities accused the mom of neglecting to watch her son as he played outside the house
A woman in Florida is facing manslaughter and child neglect charges, six months after her 2-year-old son was struck and killed in a deadly crash.
Alejandra Cruz Segundo, 32, was charged with aggravated child manslaughter and neglect of a child following an October 2025 incident in which her son, Damien Alexander Cruz Segundo, was struck and killed by a Ford F-450 pickup truck near their home, WTSP, FOX13 and the Tampa Bay Times report.
The incident happened when a 34-year-old man, identified as Christian Javier Rodriguez, was driving on 49th Avenue North in St. Petersburg, Fla., the Florida Highway Patrol said. His truck was stopped in the eastbound lane when the toddler entered the street from a nearby home without his parents' knowledge, officials claim.
The 2-year-old “darted into the roadway,” walking into the path of the pickup truck, per an arrest affidavit obtained by the outlets.
Troopers said the child walked directly in front of the truck and was run over when the truck began moving. The driver said he did not see the boy because of his size, officials alleged.
Credit: Florida Highway Patrol
Officials shared that the toddler died from his injuries at the scene, according to the outlets.
The affidavit claims that multiple witnesses said Cruz Segundo let her son and his siblings play unsupervised in the front yard next to the street.
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"Ms. Alejandra Degundo Cruz should have known that leaving young children unsupervised to play outside in the front yard near the roadway could have caused them to get seriously hurt or killed if they entered the roadway and were struck by a vehicle," the arrest report states, per WTSP.
Troopers said there was no indication that the driver of the truck was impaired, according to Tampa Bay 28. The outlet also reported that no criminal charges against him were listed in the crash report.
Segundo was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on one count each of aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect, the outlets reported.
FOX 13 reported that she is being held without bond.
Read the full article here
