Mother's car hits and kills toddler

By Nikoletta Banushi and Eun Lee Koh, Globe Correspondent and Globe Staff, 6/10/2003

A planned outing to the store for three generations of a family ended tragically yesterday when a mother backing up her Acura sport utility vehicle accidentally hit and killed her 15-month-old son. Ashland police Sergeant Roy Testa said the child's mother, Shalini Tewary, 29, dialed 911 at 3:19 p.m. to report the accident, which occurred outside the family's Independence Lane home.

The child, identified by police as Kunaal Tewary, was transported by helicopter to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, where he was pronounced dead.

A man who identified himself as Shalini Tewary's father-in-law, said he and the child were waiting in front of the house while the mother was backing out of the driveway so the three of them could go to the market.

The father-in-law said the child ran and stumbled into the vehicle.

''He just ran fast, and the car came fast from the garage,'' he said. ''The child lost balance and hit his head on the front wheel of the vehicle. Before I could catch him, he fell down and hit his head.''

The child's father, Asim Tewary, was at work at the time, the elder man said.

The Tewary's live in a relatively new cluster of houses behind a wooded area, in the town just south of Framingham. Cathy Papayannopoulos, a next door neighbor, said she moved in about the same time as the Tewarys, around September of 2001.

At the time, Shalini Tewary was pregnant, and Asim Tewary often bragged about the expected baby.

The toddler was the couple's only child, and Asim Tewary was a devoted father, she said.

She said Shalini Tewary has been a stay-at-home parent, often entertaining her in-laws from India. Neighbors often left their children at the Tewary home because the grandparents were visiting.

Meenal Garg, another neighbor, said the Tewarys have had play groups for neighborhood children.

Garg, who has a 3-year-old son, said they would spend time at each other's houses, so their children could play together. ''She used to take very good care of her son. I used to see her in the play group. I don't see how this happened.''

Papayannopoulos said, ''I just worry about her. I know she will blame herself even though it's not her fault. She couldn't have prevented it.''

Ashland and State police were trying late yesterday to reconstruct the accident. ''The case is still under investigation,'' said State Police Trooper Andrew Klane of the collision analysis and reconstruction section. ''This type of thing is unfortunate.''

This story ran on page B3 of the Boston Globe on 6/10/2003. © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.

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