45. FHP: Two Orange County toddlers struck & killed in separate motor vehicle incidents

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Tragedy struck two Orange County families, each of whom suffered the death of a toddler just 12 hours apart -- a 3-year-old girl run over in a hit-and-run on Sept. 4, 2014, a Friday night, and a 1-year-old boy struck and killed the following Saturday morning by his mother's boyfriend backing out of the driveway, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.

The boy, Eston Pernicano, was apparently standing behind the 2003 Dodge sport utility vehicle in his mom's driveway on Mosshart Lane at 9:25 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, 2014, when he was run over by the SUV driven by Dale Dorman, 27, of Orlando, the boyfriend of the mother.

Dorman moved his SUV out of the way so the toddler's mother could leave in her own car to run an errand, FHP spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes said.

Why the 1-year-old was out in the driveway and out of sight off his mother is yet unexplained, Montes told reporters.

Dorman didn't even know he had struck the little boy until he had parked his SUV on the street and got out out of the vehicle and saw the crumpled victim, Montes said her told troopers.

The toddler was rushed by paramedics to Florida Hospital East, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival with his mom by his side, Montes said.

FHP: Story doesn't add up in death of 3-year-old girl in apt. complex parking lot

Circumstances surrounding the 9:30 p.m. hit-and-run death Friday night, Sept. 4, 2014,  of 3-year-old Yeliani Schwartz-Ojeda were not as clear cut as the Saturday mishap that claimed the 1-year-old boy in his mother's driveway Saturday morning on Mosshart Lane.

It was during during a hit-and-run that a motorist reportedly struck the child in the parking lot of the Grandview Pointe Apartments where the mother and child lived and then the car sped off 9:30 p.m. Friday.

Maryanne Schwartz, 22, was en route to the hospital with her injured child and calling 9-1-1 to report the incident when a dispatcher told her to pull over and wait for paramedics to complete the transport. 

She subsequently pulled over a mile from the apartment complex at John Young Parkway and Americana Boulevard, where paramedics met her and transported the child to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, where 3-year-old Yeliani Schwartz-Ojeda died a short time later.

Maryanne Schwartz, 22, was en route to the hospital with her injured child and calling 9-1-1 to report the incident when a dispatcher told her to pull over and wait for paramedics to complete the transport. She subsequently pulled over a mile from the apartment complex at John Young Parkway and Americana Boulevard, where paramedics met her and transported the child to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, where 3-year-old Yeliani Schwartz-Ojeda died a short time later.

There were concerns about the circumstances of the hit-and-run because the mother said she didn't actually witness it; only that she saw a black passenger vehicle near the dumpster where her child was struck and the FHP said there wasn't any conclusive evidence that a hit-and-run had occurred other than the mother's statement.

Montes said the mother's story didn't add up and troopers called on the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Children and Families to assist in the investigation. Out of an abundance of caution, DCF officials took custody of Schwartz's 2-year-old son.

The deaths of two Orange County toddlers as a result of being truck by a motor vehicle within a day of each other comes in at No,. 45 in the HeadlineSurfer.com countdown of the top 100 stories of 2014.

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