A one-year-old kid was struck and died Wednesday night in Daytona Beach after leaving his home to follow the family dog, according to authorities.
According to Daytona Beach police, the deadly incident occurred around 8:20 p.m. on the 2900 block of North Halifax Avenue.
“At this point, it just appears to be a very tragic accident,” said Bill Rhodes, Daytona Beach police’s director of operations, during a news conference Thursday.
According to police, officers responded to the location and discovered the youngster with serious injuries.
According to authorities, a preliminary investigation reveals that the toddler fled his or her home, following the family dog who had escaped. Investigators suspect the dog was able to open the door to the home, allowing the animal and youngster to escape.
Police reported that while following the dog, the kid entered oncoming traffic and was struck by two vehicles.
“There’s no indication that excessive speed was involved,” Rhodes told reporters. “We’re talking about a 1-and-a-half-year-old child, dusk, tough to see — just this whole mix of things came together in a really tragic turn of events last night.”
The child was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and subsequently died, according to authorities.
Both drivers remained on the scene. No more information has been shared.
“I heard the screech, heard all of the screaming, saw the lights, so I came running down to figure out what happened and found out it was the boy who lives here,” says Joshua McDermott, a resident. “We see them playing outside all of the time.”
Several residents of North Halifax, where the accident occurred, told News 6 that they hope it throws light on what they believe to be a reoccurring issue.
“It’s like a racetrack up and down the road here,” said resident Diane James.
McDermott stated that he has had multiple close calls.
“I’ve almost gotten in an accident a couple of times just because people come flying around me — and I’m doing the speed limit. There’s nowhere for them to go into oncoming traffic, so you just got to lock your brakes and hope you don’t get into a fatal accident,” he said.
Police said they do not believe the drivers involved in the crash were speeding, but they are still investigating.