Children & Cars

A nearby community suffered a great loss over the weekend when a young boy was struck and killed by a driver in a parking lot. The tragedy occurred during a morning of sports games at a local sports field. The young boy (4-years-old) was leaving a youth league football game with his family (his father is a coach) when he was struck by a pickup truck that was driving in the crowded parking lot. The boy was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead. 

This incident is especially concerning because of the environment in which it occured. I would hope that drivers in a youth field parking lot would be especially cautious knowing how many children are running around. I would also hope that drivers would be driving slowly so that if an accident did occur, the impact would be minimal. And this little guy was with his family, meaning that his parents were present, and I imagine that other adults were nearby when the accident happened.

But this tragedy demonstrates that you can never be too careful. These things happen so quickly, and I imagine that the many cars and people in the parking lot had something to do with the likelihood of this accident. 

There is a national organization that aims to prevent accidents like this. Kids and Cars' mission is "to assure no child dies or is injured in a non-traffic, motor vehicle related event." They believe that these types of accidents are preventable, and they offer valuable resources geared toward preventing a child from being injured or killed. They offer specific resources including information regarding the following topics:

• Backed Over by Vehicle (Backovers)
• Hit By Vehicle Moving Forward (Frontovers)
• Car Theft With Child In Vehicle
• Children Left in Vehicle (Heat Stroke Or Hyperthermia)
• Incidents Involving Power Windows
• Vehicle Set in Motion by a Child
• Underage Drivers

I urge everyone to peruse the Kids and Cars website - these incidents truly are easily preventable.

*I realize that some of the above statements might seem blameful, and I realize that this incident was merely an accident. I only point out that the situation appeared to be harmless because it helps us to understand how even "safe" situations can have unexpected and serious concerns.