Shorewood man charged with not placing harness on child who fell out of vehicle

A man has been arrested after he was accused of driving a vehicle in Shorewood without securing a child who then fell out of the vehicle after opening a door, police said.

About 10:30 a.m. Friday, Frank Ostir, 57, of Shorewood, arrived at the Shorewood Police Department to surrender himself on a warrant for his arrest on misdemeanor charges of endangering the life and health of a child, Shorewood Deputy Police Chief Jason Bartens said.

Ostir has been charged with transporting a 21-month-old boy Feb. 13 in a motor vehicle without adequate supervision and without securing the child in a harness, according to a criminal complaint.

The complaint said the child opened a passenger door and fell from the vehicle while it was in motion.

Ostir is not the father or a relative of the child, Bartens said. Ostir was an acquaintance of the child’s mother, he said.

Patrol officers originally were dispatched for a call of a child who fell out of a vehicle, but they were unable to find the vehicle, the driver or the child, Bartens said.

Officers spoke to a witness who gave them a description of what occurred and later learned of what happened from the child’s mother, Bartens said.

The mother had confronted Ostir about her child’s injuries, which were inconsistent with Ostir’s initial account of what happened, Bartens said.

The mother had left her child in the care of Ostir, who failed to secure the child in any type of safety restraint or seat belt, Bartens said.

Police learned that the child, who was in the rear passenger seat of the vehicle, had opened the door and tumbled out into the road, Bartens said.

Afterward, Ostir stopped his vehicle, retrieved the child, put him on his lap while in the driver’s seat and drove away, Bartens said.

The warrant for Ostir’s arrest listed his employer as Ostir Physical Medicine and Chiropractic, 1024 Essington Road, Joliet.

Ostir was released from police custody Friday after he posted bond.