Authorities in North Carolina have brought charges against the parents of a 7-year-old boy who was fatally struck by a car as he and his older brother were returning home from a shopping center.
Per ABC News, the fatal May 27 incident occurred in Gastonia, and the 7-year-old was fatally struck by a Jeep Cherokee while he was trying to cross the street, the Gastonia Police Department said. The minor was said to be walking with a 10-year-old boy at the time of the incident.
In an interview with WSOC, the 7-year-old’s parents, Jessica Ivey, 30, and Samuele Jenkins, 31, said the 10-year-old boy was their deceased son’s brother. They also said their deceased son was called Legend.
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Ivey and Jenkins have since been charged with deadly collision with felony involuntary manslaughter, felony child neglect, and misdemeanor child neglect. The charges were filed against the pair two days after the fatal incident.
In a statement, the Gastonia Police Department said that officers on May 27 arrived at the 1000 block of West Hudson Boulevard after they received a report about a collision. Authorities said the responding officers established that a 76-year-old female driver had struck a minor.
“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,” the statement said.
Authorities said the 7-year-old boy was taken to a hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. “While the Gastonia Police Department offers its deepest sympathies to the family for the heartbreaking loss of their child, the investigation revealed that the children involved were unsupervised at the time the boy stepped into traffic,” the statement said.
“In such cases, adults must be held accountable for their responsibilities to ensure a safe environment for their children.”
Authorities also said that they had not filed charges against the 76-year-old driver because “there is no evidence of speeding or wrongdoing” on her part. “The driver continues to be cooperative and the incident remains under active investigation by the Gastonia Police Department’s Traffic Division,” the statement added.
Ivey told WSOC that her two sons were returning home from a shopping center when the fatal incident occurred, adding that it was the first time the minors had been allowed to go there by themselves.
“It was just devastating. I’m still in shock,” she said. “It’s hard. I haven’t stopped crying. My husband hasn’t stopped crying.”
Ivey said she wanted the unidentified driver to be held accountable. “I just don’t feel like she should still be able to drive,” she said.
Jenkins also said he was talking to their sons on the phone when the fatal incident occurred. “I heard my oldest son, he was like, ‘Oh my God, Legend, no, no,'” he recalled. “So I hung up and … I ran to find them.”
Ivey and Jenkins are being held on a $1.5 million bond, and their next court date is scheduled for June 20.
