Baby Thrown onto Freeway

On Thursday, a Hawian child was hurled from a highway overpass, some 30 feet up, into the heavy traffic below. According to witnesses, the not-quite two-year-old was struck by at least two cars after landing.

Medical examiners determined that Cyrus Belt, whose 2nd birthday would have been next month, died from "multiple blunt force injuries due to fall from height," not due to being run over.

Police arrested a neighbor of the child, a 23-year-old. Charges are pending.

The man was reportedly holding Cyrus over his head on a pedestrian overpass, and then dropped him. He struck the pavement at over 20 miles per hour. Unable to avoid a collision, at least two vehicles then ran him over.

The unidentified assailant was wearing green hospital scrubs at the time. While being arrested, he screamed, "Thank you!" to reporters, and rocked himself in the back of a police car.

A police spokesperson said he was taken to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation. The police did not yet know if he had a history of mental illness or a criminal record.

How exactly the man got ahold of the child is still being investigated. According to Cyrus's mother, Nancy Asiata Chanco, "He was strange ... not all there." She said she would never let the neighbor take care of Cyrus.

The suspect seemed obsessed with Cyrus. Chanco said, "He always tried to hold the baby."

"How can somebody do that?" she asked of reporters.

She has two other children, a boy of 16, and another son, 5.

Mourners are already visiting the site. On Friday, balloons and stuffed animals covered the wall of the walkway where Cyrus was killed.