4-year-old riding scooter in driveway hit and killed by mail truck, Louisiana cops say
A 4-year-old died after a mail truck struck him in a Louisiana neighborhood, cops said.
The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office said it was called to the Lake Charles neighborhood around 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 9 about a child who had been hit by a truck.
Deputies arrived to find a 4-year-old boy had been riding his scooter in his neighbor’s driveway when a U.S. Postal Service truck came to the end of the street and used the same driveway to turn around, according to a sheriff’s office news release. The truck hit the child in the driveway, deputies said.
The child was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies did not identify him in the release.
“The Postal Service is deeply saddened by the loss of life of a child yesterday in Lake Charles,” a spokesperson for USPS said in a statement to McClatchy News.
“The safety and well-being of both our customers and employees are of the utmost importance to the U.S. Postal Service, and our thoughts are with the child’s family,” the statement said. “No further comment is available at this time, as the matter is currently under investigation.”
The sheriff’s office said it does not believe the driver was impaired when they hit the child but that it is conducting a toxicology report as required by Louisiana state law.
“This is a heartbreaking and tragic situation for everyone involved,” Sheriff Tony Mancuso said in a statement.
The investigation into the death is ongoing.
Lake Charles is about 75 miles west of Lafayette.
This story was originally published February 10, 2023 at 3:24 PM with the headline "4-year-old riding scooter in driveway hit and killed by mail truck, Louisiana cops say."
