Man Accidentally Runs Over 3-Year-Old Son In Parking Lot, Killing Child

A Florida man accidentally ran over his three-year-old son with the family's SUV, killing the child. The incident took place in a Waffle House parking lot Tuesday.

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said the incident took place while the parents and seven children were leaving the Waffle House location Tuesday night. Both the father and mother of the boy, Jeremiah Rios, thought the other parent had placed him inside the vehicle. The boy’s father, Guillermo Junior Montoya Rios, was driving away from the restaurant when the vehicle hit the child, causing severe head injuries. The boy was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Danny Alvarez, the department’s public information officer, said, "It’s too late for this family and had the most tragic outcome but if in the future, if we could just ask parents, slow down, make sure you’ve got everybody. We know we get caught up in our day but slow down and we can prevent a tragedy,” CBS-affiliated television station licensed WTSP reported.

Investigators confirmed the father accidentally hit him with the car’s front right tire and neither alcohol nor drugs was a factor in the tragic accident.

Speaking about the importance of installing 360-view and back-up cameras on vehicles to avoid such accidents, Victor Ruiz, the owner of Performance Pit Shop, a window tinting shop, said these cameras were becoming popular.

"The software itself in the system crops all the pictures together and makes the video,” he said.

In a similar incident in February, a New Jersey man accidentally ran over his 18-month-old toddler, leaving the child critically injured. The father was moving the vehicle to the side of the house when he realized he had struck his daughter. Chatham Township Police and paramedics reached the scene and saw the toddler lying in the driveway. She was rushed to a nearby hospital and listed in critical condition, Patch reported.

In another incident in April 2018, a two-year-old was critically injured after his father accidentally ran over him while maneuvering the truck at the boy’s grandmother’s property in Washington. The man did not notice when his child walked in front of the vehicle and ran over him. The boy was flown to a nearby medical center where he was listed in critical condition, Q13 Fox reported.