A 3-year-old has died after he was accidentally run over by his dad in a Waffle House parking lot in Brandon, Florida.
WTSP reports, police say Jeremiah Rios’ parents were leaving the restaurant around 9:45 p.m. on Tuesday when the toddler’s dad, Guillermo Junior Montoya Rios, and mom had both mistakenly believed the other parent had placed the child inside the SUV before driving off.
Guillermo started to drive away in his 2007 Chevy Tahoe when the vehicle’s front right tire struck the boy, causing severe head injuries.
According to investigators, neither alcohol or drugs contributed to the accident, reports the Tampa Bay Times.
The little boy was pronounced dead in the hospital.
the incident Danny Alvarez, Public Information Officer with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, urged parents to slow down when transporting kids to and from the car.
Alvarez explained:
“It’s too late for this family and had the most tragic outcome but if in the future, if we could just ask parents, slow down, make sure you’ve got everybody.
We know we get caught up in our day but slow down and we can prevent a tragedy.”
According to the child car safety organization Kids and Cars, every week, at least 50 children are backed over by a vehicle.
@TheRealLailaAli Thank you very much for speaking out about the scary backover incident you just had. @KidsAndCars knows that you cannot avoid hitting something you cannot see. We would love to work with you to help raise awareness about vehicle blindzones to help save lives! pic.twitter.com/BHZINI6CEu
— KidsAndCars.org (@KidsAndCars) December 14, 2018
The organization wrote in December 2018, that “you cannot avoid hitting something you cannot see,” after the late Muhammad Ali’s daughter, Laila Ali, opened up about a minor parking lot accident due to a vehicle blind zone last year.
— Laila Ali (@TheRealLailaAli) December 6, 2018
Some experts say installing a 360-view camera car system is the best way to prevent a tragic accident.
It’s unclear if charges have been filed against Jeremiah’s parents.
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