Improper placement of a seat belt contributed to the death of East Stroudsburg child

Sophia Willis2

Improper placement of a seat belt contributed to the death Saturday of a 6-year-old East Stroudsburg child, according to Monroe County Coroner Bob Allen.

A forensic autopsy done by a Forensic pathologist Monday at Lehigh Valley Hospital determined the cause of death for Sophia Willis was blunt force injuries to the head and neck, after a two car crash that happened around 4:35 p.m. on Business Route 209 near a Sunoco gas station in Hamilton Township.

The child, a kindergarten student at J.M. Hill School, was in a child booster seat with the lap belt fastened, but the shoulder strap was behind her.

If she had shoulder harness on, her injuries would not have been so severe, Allen said.

State police at Swiftwater reported that a southbound vehicle driven by the child’s mother, Rebecca Lynn Willis, 41, of East Stroudsburg, crossed into the northbound lane just south of Polk Valley Road and struck a vehicle driven by Valerie Ann Smith, 44, of Stroudsburg.

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