Parents charged with involuntary manslaughter after son, 7, killed by car in N.C. – National
The parents of a seven-year-old boy who was fatally hit by a car while crossing the street with an older child have been charged with involuntary manslaughter and remain in prison on a $1.5 million bond, according to police.
The child was struck and killed by a Jeep Cherokee being driven by a 76-year-old female in Gastonia, a city west of Charlotte, N.C., on May 27, authorities confirmed in a statement.
The incident occurred just before 6:00 p.m. while the boys were walking without an adult present.
“The preliminary investigation revealed that the child was attempting to cross the street outside of a crosswalk with another juvenile male, aged 10, when he entered the roadway and was hit,” police said.
After sustaining life-threatening injuries, the child was transported to CaroMont Regional Medical Center and later transferred to Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte.
“Tragically, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead near 10:00 p.m.,” police confirmed.
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Following the incident, the deceased’s parents, Jessica Ivey and Samuele Jenkins, were charged with felony involuntary manslaughter, felony child neglect and misdemeanour child neglect.
The parents’ bond was set at $1.5 million during a court appearance on Friday, online records show.
Both remain in custody in Gaston County Jail and have yet to enter a plea to the charges.
Ivey’s public defender told ABC News he has no comment this early in the case. Meanwhile, Jenkins’ lawyer told the outlet he was appointed to the case on Wednesday and had not received any legal documents yet.
Police said its initial investigation revealed that the children involved were unsupervised at the time the boy stepped into traffic.
“In such cases, adults must be held accountable for their responsibilities to ensure a safe environment for their children,” police wrote, adding that there is currently no evidence indicating that the driver was speeding or in violation of traffic laws when the child was hit.
Police have not released the boy’s name, though his parents said in an interview with WSOC before their arrests that his name was Legend, and that the child with him was his older brother.
His father told WSOC that he was on the phone with his eldest son at the time of the incident, and that he “just ran” when he heard him yelling.
Shortly before the accident, the family had been in a food line close to their home and where the young boy was hit.
Their mother said the boys asked if they could go to the Subway next door and then make the two-block walk home afterwards.
Legend was killed on that short walk home.
No charges have been filed against the driver, who police say remains cooperative in the investigation.
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