Man charged with vehicular manslaughter after death of 4-month-old

A Huntington Beach man was charged Jan. 20 with killing a 4-month-old girl in an alleged car crash that ejected the infant from the stroller her mother was pushing through a crosswalk.

Robert Anthony Casares, 50, is charged with one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. He faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail if convicted. His arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 15 at the West Justice Center in Westminster.

About 10 a.m. Sept. 7, Casares drove over the train tracks on Springdale Street in Huntington Beach and looked down to prevent his laptop from falling off the seat, according to a release from the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Casares hit the brakes when he saw traffic was stopped, but he rear-ended a pickup truck at Croupier Drive. His sports utility vehicle pushed the truck into the intersection, where 31-year-old Renee Gould from Australia was pushing her daughter in a stroller, according to the release.

Gould and her niece, who was walking with Gould, were hit and suffered injuries. The baby girl was thrown 70 feet from the stroller and died later that evening.

Michael Miller