The parolee defendant drove recklessly at excessive speed and lost control of his car while his 7-month-old baby was in the front passenger seat.  He crossed the center divider and another car crashed into the baby’s side of car.   The defendant was helped from the car, while the baby was critically injured.  While good Samaritans tried to help the baby, the defendant fled the scene.  This was egregious because he was the father and had caused the accident.  He owed his baby the duty of helping him.  Unfortunately for the baby, his skull was fractured and he had bleeding to the brain.  He suffered permanent injuries including paralysis from the chest down, partial blindness, and loss of voice.  The baby needed a feeding tube and will require lifelong medical attention and dependency.  The police caught the defendant a week later in Bakersfield. 
 
The father pleaded guilty to felony charges including child endangerment, child abandonment and hit-and-run.  The judge sentenced the defendant to the upper term of six years in state prison on count one, and three years concurrent on the abandonment charge.  The father lost parental rights in family court and he will not be allowed to have contact with his son.  Steidinger was also ordered to pay restitution.