child killed in our neighborhood

[mommax3]

There was a five year old boy hit by a car in our cul-de-sac this afternoon. He was riding one of those motor scooters that are really low to the ground, going from his driveway to the one directly across the street. His parents' Hummer, with a trailer hitched behind it, was parked on the street and blocked the view of the driveway, and a teenager coming to water our next door neighbors' plants (they are on vacation) drove in and the kid went right out in front of him. He was run over and died in the ambulance.

I wasn't home when it happened (my kids were at my ILs in KS this past week and I drove to MO and back today to pick them up) but the incident was on the news and my pastor saw it and called to make sure it wasn't my youngest because he knew it was our neighborhood. I had noticed a lot of cars at that house when I got home (about 3.5 hours after it happened) and my blood ran cold when I realized it was that little boy. The weird thing is that we *almost* hit him a month ago when he was doing the same thing.....the fact that we sit higher up from the road than we would in a car allowed us to see him in time. Several of the neighborhood kids saw it happen, along with the boy's 3 year old sister and his parents.

So, so, so, so sad. I feel like throwing up. I can't imagine how his parents feel. I hugged my kids hard tonight!

Sally

[fluffhead]

How horrible for everybody involved, including the teenager who hit him.
Wishing your street better times.

[SuzySunshine]

Oh Sally, how terrible. Hugs to you, your kids, and all of their friends.

[planet]

Oh Sally, I'm so sorry. I hope yours is a tightly knit neighborhood. With so many witnesses this must be extraordinarily traumatic and devastating to many families. I can hear the 'it could have been me' in your post.

[Meenah]

Oh my , that is horrible for everyone involved. I am soooo sorry.

[PrincessFiona]

omg, Sally How absolutely devastating...I just can't begin to imagine.

kris

how terribly, terribly sad ... just sick.

That is so sad, Sally. What a horrible shock for the family to deal with. And the teenager, too.

[Vanquisher]

Tragic.

[Sheherezade]

That's awful, Sally. Are your kids OK? That must be one of their first brushes with death - and such an untimely death- so close to home. Did your family know the little boy at all? I always envy those littel cul-de-sacs because they seem so safe. It's hard to believe this could happen. I do eel or the teenager as well because it sounds like it could have happened to a more experiened driver easily too. Are there moves to charge the teen? Or is it understood as an accident by all?


So sorry to everyone. Give your kids and extra ten kisses and keep a close eye on them.

[migirl]

Oh, my... That is horrible.

[mommax3]

My middle son had played with this little boy a few times. He was pretty upset by it.....still is. The little boy's house is at the opening of our cul-de-sac, and we are the very back house, so they are about 8 houses (and around a curve) from us. I don't let my kids go down there because it is too far for me to see/hear them, so they didn't play together too often.

There hasn't been any talk of charges being filed. There is NO WAY the teenager could have seen him in time......we almost didn't the night we had our encounter with him, and there were no cars parked on the street that night.

The sad, sad thing is that this little boy had *almost* gotten hit several times while riding his little scooter between the driveways. One of my neighbors (that I know of) said something to him, and another neighbor had said something to his mother. We had all taken to slowing down there because you never knew when he would come zooming across the road. I wonder if I had gotten out of the car and talked to his mom the night we almost hit him (at 10:30 in the evening, btw) if it would have made a difference.

They played the 911 call on the news last night. Chilling.

Sally

[Sheherezade]

My son bolted across the busy street we live on last year. The driver of the car that nearly hit him pulled the car over, got out and very pointedly told him "Never, ever do that again!" I was a little bristled by it. I was horrified that my son had made such a bad choice but it is still weird to watch another adult tell off your kid. The upshot is that he will ALWAYS think twice now about crossing the street. He was freaked out by the car, but also by the parent. I think speaking up to parents and kids about safety issues is probably a good thing - even though I don't know if it is always well received.

I'm still freaked out by your story. So sad!

you can't 2nd guess yourself Sally. it wasn't your responsibility to make sure she realized ... chances are she would have just been put off and told you to butt out.

there were no cars parked on the street? i must have misread your original post. so the parents' Hummer was in their driveway and the kid popped out from behind it into the street? i guess there is no way this makes sense, and the teenager must be destroyed as well.

we live on a cul-de-sac, too - but not as deep as yours sounds. my neighbors and I have been talking about buying orange cones to put at the mouth of the cul-de-sac when kids are playing ... I think it's a darn good idea.

[mommax3]

The night we almost hit him, there were no cars parked on the street, but it was dark.

Yesterday, when he was hit, his parents' Hummer was parked on the street with a box trailer (the kind that can haul a race car) attached. It blocked the view of the driveway for traffic coming into the cul-de-sac.

I think those cones are a *great* idea.

Sally