An Oklahoma toddler died this week after his father accidentally ran him over outside their home.
According to the Tulsa Police Department, the incident occurred at around 10 p.m. Tuesday on North Darlington Avenue. The family told authorities they had returned from the grocery store and parked their Dodge pickup truck in front of their residence. The dad went to open the front door of the home, as the mother and child exited the vehicle. It was at that time that the woman informed her husband they wouldn’t be leaving the house again later that night, so he got back in the vehicle and began pulling into the driveway.
Officers say the man then felt a bump as he attempted to park. He quickly realized he had hit his 2-year-old son. Police say the child ran toward the back of the truck and was run over with the right rear wheel. The boy was immediately rushed to the hospital with critical injuries, and died shortly after.
The boy and his parents have not been publicly identified. Police called the situation “tragic,” and confirmed no criminal charges have been filed.
“This isn’t the first [accident] like this, unfortunately,” TPD Lt. Steven Florea told KOTV-DT. “This is something that happens and it’s just very important that anytime you have children, that you’re aware of where they are at all time, especially when you’re around a moving vehicle or anything like that.”
