A drone fell from the sky in Pasadena, injuring an 11-month-old girl being pushed in a stroller by her mother, police said Tuesday.
The infant was struck by shrapnel when the privately owned “quadcopter” fell to the ground on Marengo Avenue near Union Street, Pasadena police Lt. Tracey Ibarra said.
“The drone shattered, sending shrapnel flying toward the child’s forehead and head and the mother’s legs,” Ibarra said.
The baby was treated at Huntington Memorial Hospital for a large contusion to her forehead and a quarter-inch laceration on the side of her head, according to the lieutenant.
Her 31-year-old mother was not injured in the 6:30 p.m. Saturday incident, Ibarra said.
Officers sent to the scene located the 24-year-old owner of the drone nearby. He said he was attending an event in front of City Hall and flying the drone overhead when he lost control of it, Ibarra said.
He went to the crash scene and remained there awaiting law enforcement to arrive, she said.
The incident was documented and a report forwarded “to the Flight Standards District Office in Van Nuys for review to determine if the operator violated federal aircraft rules forbidding careless or reckless operation of an unmanned aircraft,” Ibarra said.
— City News Service