On Saturday morning this past weekend in Kingston, NH, a 4-year-old boy was accidentally struck by his father’s pickup truck in the family’s driveway. The boy is continuing his stay in the hospital but it was reported that he is doing well
The boy’s father thought that he parked the truck but soon found that the truck was set in reverse, hitting the 4-year-old in their South Street driveway around 9:00am that morning.
Luckily, the 4-year-old does not have any serious injuries as a result from the incident and the father stated that his son doesn’t have any brain damage either.
Statistics dating across five years, from 2002 to 2007, show that just under half of all fatalities among kids aged 15 and under involved cars backing up and striking the child. These “backovers” made up 44 percent of deaths among children in this age group. “Frontovers,” where the car accidentally hits a child going forward, were involved in 17 percent of the fatalities.
In a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) it was found that there were nearly 9,200 injuries and almost 80 deaths annually among kids aged 14 and younger who were around cars in driveways or parking lots—but not in traffic. It was also found that children under the age of 4 accounted for 82 percent of the fatalities.
We have to try and remember that a vehicle can do serious harm wherever it is, not just on highways or main roads. Check your mirrors twice when you get in the car today.
