Father Accidentally Backs Over Son in the Driveway, and the Heartbreaking Way He Found Out the Child Had Died

A 32-year-old Louisiana father accidentally backed his Ford F-250 truck over his 4-year-old son Wednesday, crushing the boy.

According to state police, Hai Hoang Thanh Huynh immediately realized something happened, put is son, Vincent Huynh, in the truck and took off toward the nearest medical facility.

While on his way, Huynh was pulled over by a Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy for speeding. It was then that police and Huynh saw the child had died as a result of his injuries. The incident occurred around noon Jan. 1 in Buras, La.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

While the accident is still under investigation, the Louisiana State Police said in a statement posted to Facebook that it doesn't believe speed or impairment was a factor.

"This is an example of a tragic incident that occurs far too often," Melissa Matey, a state police spokesperson, wrote in the statement.

The police offered these tips to help protect children around cars:

• Walk around and behind a vehicle prior to moving it.
• Know where your kids are. Make children move away from your vehicle to a place where they are in full view before moving the car and know that another adult is properly supervising children before moving your vehicle.
• Teach children that “parked” vehicles might move. Let them know that they can see the vehicle; but the driver might not be able to see them.
• Consider installing cross view mirrors, audible collision detectors, rear view video camera and/or some type of back up detection device.
• Measure the size of your blind zone (area) behind the vehicle(s) you drive. A 5-foot-1-inch driver in a pickup truck can have a rear blind zone of approximately 8 feet wide by 50 feet long.
• Be aware that steep inclines and large SUV’s, vans and trucks add to the difficulty of seeing behind a vehicle.
• Hold children’s hand when leaving the vehicle.
• Teach your children to never play in, around or behind a vehicle and always set the emergency brake.
• Keep toys and other sports equipment off the driveway.
• Homeowners should trim landscaping around the driveway to ensure they can see the sidewalk, street and pedestrians clearly when backing out of their driveway. Pedestrians also need to be able to see a vehicle pulling out of the driveway.
• Never leave children alone in or around cars; not even for a minute.
• Keep vehicles locked at all times; even in the garage or driveway.
• Keys and/or remote openers should never be left within reach of children.
• Make sure all child passengers have left the car after it is parked.
• Be especially careful about keeping children safe in and around cars during busy times, schedule changes and periods of crisis or holidays.

WWL-TV noted no charges have been filed in this case.

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