3-year-old climbed behind wheel of truck that fatally hit tot

A 3-year-old child who was left in a running pickup truck climbed behind the wheel before it smashed into 2-year-old girl and killed her, police said.

Sandro Sanchez said his only daughter, Ailahni Sanchez Martinez, was sitting alone at a table at her family’s taco stand in the Sacramento suburb of Woodland just before 4 p.m. on Saturday, when the Dodge pickup truck came crashing into her.

“All of a sudden I just hear screaming,” Sanchez told CBS Sacramento. “I ran, opened the door to the truck, I pulled the brake, thought I could stop it, but it was too late already.” 

The entire harrowing episode played out in “less than a minute,” the dad recalled. “Everything happened and she was gone.” 

The cherub-faced Ailahni was taken to an area hospital, where she later died from her injuries. Her parents told KCRA she would have turned three next month. Instead of a birthday party, they are now planning her funeral.

Investigators said they have since determined that the truck was left in drive at a gas pump by the owner, who then went into the gas station store, according to a press release from the Woodland Police Department.

The owner’s 3-year-old child was left unattended while strapped into a car seat in the back.

“While [the father was ] inside the store, the three-year-old got out of their car seat and got into the driver’s seat,” police said. “The truck began moving forward and it collided with a two-year-old child who was near a taco stand on the edge of the lot.”

Cops said everyone involved in the tragedy has cooperated with the police — and so far no one has been arrested or charged.

Sitting at a growing makeshift memorial at the scene of the crash with his daughter’s framed photo in his hands, Sanchez argued that leaving a toddler unattended inside a vehicle with the engine running should not be deemed an accident.

“I want justice for my little girl, because they let the guy just go free,” he said. 

Police pledged to “ensure a thorough investigation” into the tot’s death, which will include taking statements, analyzing evidence and reviewing video surveillance.

The completed investigation will be sent over to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, which will make the decision whether to criminally charge the truck owner.

Ailahni’s family members said the tot had just started to talk.

“She was always happy, she loved to dance and brought joy to the family,” her mother Rosa Martinez said.

The 2-year-old is survived by her parents and two older brothers, ages 6 and 7.