Florida mom runs over 2-year-old boy while reversing car, 4 years after her daughter killed in similar 'tragic' accident
PLANT CITY, FLORIDA: A two-year-old boy was killed while his mother was reversing her car on Tuesday, November 5, in a freak accident, similar to the one that killed his sister four years ago.
Deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home in Plant City around 5 pm after receiving reports that the toddler had been hit by a family vehicle.
The child's mother, whose name was not released, had left her son and their pet dog inside the house as she and the child's grandmother were test-driving their Chevrolet Blazer on their private road as it was facing some issues with its transmission. When the vehicle began stalling, the mother hit reverse, drove forward before hitting reverse again, People magazine reported.
The mother told the authorities that she felt the car hit a piece of wood when she reversed it for the first time. This was before she realized that the family dog had found its way into the street.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Crystal Clark said in a press conference that the mother should have immediately noticed next that her son had followed the canine out of the house too.
“Two-year-olds, some of them do have the ability to open a door on their own,” Clark said. “They did say that they left the toddler and a dog inside the house at the time, so when they saw the dog was outside in the yard, it’s a clear indicator that, ‘Oh no, our child is likely in the yard as well.’”
Shortly after, the mother and the grandmother found the toddler in front of the vehicle. Her son was airlifted to the Tampa General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
“It’s absolutely a tragic accident, especially because such a young child lost his life,” said Clark of Tuesday’s accident. “This is something where we just always try to drill home to families that you have to be extremely cautious whenever you have children that are out in the yard when your vehicles are running. We always ask that you make sure before getting in your vehicle and starting that car, you check around the vehicle to make sure no children or pets are there.”
In a freakily similar accident, the mother's two-year-old daughter died in 2015 after falling out an open door of a minivan that was being driven by a relative in the same street.
No charges have been filed against the boy’s family members yet.
