A five-year-old boy has died after he was accidentally run over by his father, according to Indiana police.

Officers in St. Joseph County, who operate in and around the South Bend area, were alerted to reports of a child not breathing at the 100 block of Royal Arms Drive at about 10:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Police described the scene as chaotic, and they were first told the child had suffered a serious injury after being shot in the head, according to NBC affiliate WNDU. But officers later learned the claims as well as a video circulating online said to be of the event were incorrect.

After an investigation, they later found the child had died after his father accidentally ran him over in the Castle Point playground parking lot.

According to the nonprofit National Transportation Research Group, there were 955 traffic fatalities in the state in 2022, a slight increase on the 932 and 897 recorded in 2021 and 2020, respectively.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the leading cause of death for children aged between five and nine is accidents, followed by cancer and homicides.

In 2021, 827 children in the age group died as a result of accidents, out of a total U.S. population of 20,291,548.

The child was taken to a hospital for treatment, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead, according to the network.

St. Joseph County Fatal Crash Team officers have since launched an investigation into the boy's death. Police didn't reveal whether anyone had been arrested in connection with the child's death.

According to the Department of Transportation, there are many steps that drivers can take to keep children safe in and around cars, which include:

  • Teaching children not to play in or around cars.
  • Always walk around your vehicle and check the area around it before backing up.
  • Be aware of small children - the smaller a child, the more likely it is you will not see them.
  • Have children in the area stand to the side of the driveway or sidewalk so you can see them as you are backing out of a driveway or parking space.
  • Teach your children to keep their toys and bikes out of the driveway.
  • Roll down your windows while backing out of your driveway or parking space so that you'll be able to hear what is happening outside your vehicle.

Newsweek has contacted the St. Joseph County Police Department for comment.

Uncommon Knowledge

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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