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Subscribe to RSSUpdated at 4:33 p.m. ET: TITUSVILLE, Fla. – A 22-month-old boy has died after being run over by an SUV driven by the wife of a police chief in the parking lot of a Florida high school during a softball game.
Police said Pamela Bodenheimer, 51, was backing up from a parking spot Friday night at Titusville High School when she drove over Brady Hutto. She told police she did not see the boy. No charges have been filed.
Bodenheimer's daughter and the boy's sister are teammates on the Auburndale Bloodhounds softball team. The game was postponed after the tragedy.
"We have been in close contact with that family," said Lake Alfred police Chief Art Bodenheimer. "We are a close-knit community that has been impacted greatly. We ask for support and prayers."
A witness tried to perform CPR on the boy before he was taken by ambulance to a hospital, police said. He was pronounced dead soon after arrival.
"It appears to be a tragic accident," said Titusville Police Maj. Todd Hutchinson. "She was absolutely devastated," he said of Pamela Bodenheimer.
Her sport utility vehicle was confiscated for the investigation. There is a potential for a charge of improper backing, Hutchinson said. That will not be determined until the investigation is completed, which could take up to a week.
There was no indication that alcohol was involved, he said.
Most of the crowd had gathered for the softball game when Brady's mother went to get something out of her car in the parking lot. The boy wandered away, and Brady's mother noticed the SUV backing up.
"She witnessed the car backing over her child," Hutchinson said. "She yelled to get the driver's attention, but by then it was too late. The most serious injury was trauma to the chest."
Local coverage from WESH.com in Orlando
There was an outpouring of support on Twitter from members of the community, including players on the softball team who said they were praying for the boy's family.
Jennifer Sansone wrote: "He was the most adorable, sweetest, loving, & charismatic little boy & will be dearly missed. He was loved by many3."
The driver wasn't cited, and police said there was no indication that alcohol was involved. Her SUV was confiscated for the investigation.
Police say a witness tried to perform CPR on the boy, who was taken by ambulance to a Titusville hospital. He was pronounced dead soon after arrival.
The boy's mother was nearby, outside her vehicle when the incident happened.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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This could have been avoided, I have a 22-month old as well and is never an option to let her wander off alone, if we go to the store, she's strapped in the cart, if we go outside, she's strapped on the stroller, carseat in car, and if we're in the parking lot she's in my arms, ALWAYS, because is common sense that she's small and drivers wouldn't be able to see her if they back up. Always watch your child.
Unfortunately this tragedy is 100% the mother's fault. As a parent to 3 children, I know just how "on the ball" you have to be when it comes to your little ones. They cannot be trusted to stay near their car or parent. They must be held, in a stroller, or at the very least holding the hand of an adult. I can't imagine how devistated the parents must be, esp. since it was completely avoidable. Now the person who ran over the child will be plagued with the horror of killing the boy for life. So very sad.
One thing Blarney. the mother didn't just turn the child loose, and we don't know the details. Except for the evil SUV did it.
Yep, gather the pitchforks and torches and head to the nearest SUV dealership!!lol.
That happened in Oregon or Washington state. Burnt the whole dealership.
My condolences to everyone involved. Such a sad, sad situation.
True, the child should have been in his mother's arms or in a stroller, not walking alongside of her or with his hand in hers. Personally, I would not have taken a baby to a high school event. Period. That is no place for very young children because of all the activity that goes on - cheering, running and jumping up and down, excitement, etc. The last thing that people are doing is looking out for babies and toddlers. People want to get to their cars and continue their good times whether they won or lost. I think we need to be more reasonable as to where and when we include our babies and youngsters when going on outings, especially a high school or college event. Such a pity.
We need better drivers, for these dip-@!$%#s don't have any brains when they drive. Some say we need better vehicles that can sense when we back up. No I say the stupid ass drivers needs to use their brains when driving. If the stupid ass driver was using their brains they would have looked before backing up........
Observations is better than just driving then blaming other for your stupid behavior...............................
Bottom line is that we need better drivers not better vehicles
When kids are that age they are constantly moving and very fast! It may not be anyone's fault but an unfortunate incident. Condolences to the family.
Just the other day I pulled into a very small strip mall in my town. Now mind you, just like any other you may have been to this tiny mall DID have a sidewalk. As I pulled in I saw these 3 cows and they had a few small children. The cows and their brats were standing in the MIDDLE of the parking lot. They continued to moo and pass gas as the children ran amok in the parking lot! I was amazed by this, here we have 3 adult female cows each weighing in well over 200 plus pounds so busy chatting in the middle of the parking lot. Not on the nearby sidewalk, no no but dead in the middle of the lot. I pulled in slowly and turned to park my car only to see a BIG van with the door swung wide open with one of the cows other children eating a cookie and half hanging on the door as if it was a swing in a local park. I could not get out of my car because of this. I decided to forget going to the local store and backed out slowly and got away from that whole nasty area.
Fat cow women, please for the love of God, take your brats and put them on the sidewalk. The parking lot is NOT the playground for your snot faced arrogant children. Be a better parent, teach your ugly kids it's NOT OK to play in a parking lot of a BUSY store.
Mind you, these are the same pigs who leave their shopping carts in the middle isle as the bend over and show their Volkswagen @sses to everyone in the supermarket.
First of all, why is backing into a space so much safer than backing out of one? It could have happened just as easily when she arrived as when she was leaving. Secondly, we all have moments in our day where we lose focus, if only for a moment. Children can dart away from you in an instant and it only takes a second for these things to happen. The child may have run away from it's mother, the mother yelled for the child to stop, and then maybe, just maybe, the child stopped in the path of the vehicle. I'm not defending anyone necessarily. I'm just looking at all possibilities instead of calling someone "stupid" or "incompetent".
fed up, I try to pull through the parking space if possible. That way I do not have to back out at all. At my age, I try to avoid backing up, whenever possible.
Sad preventable Forrest Gump type of death. Stupid is as stupid does. Don't watch a toddler and this happens. Pure parental negligence.
Not necessarily. The mother could just as easily have just unstrapped the toddler from his stroller. He then could have leaped out and squirmed out of her arms and turned into the SUV. Without the details, you don't know whether this was preventable or not. You just automatically condemn someone without knowing what happened. Shame on you people.
more tragic news from a "RED" state that looks like a handgun !!
When my youngest was 22 months old he was unbuckling himself from the stroller. while I was shopping in a mall, imagine my surprise when I notice him standing outside his stroller in less than the 1 minute I looked away. I went immediately and bought 1 of those "leashes" as everybody called them. I took a lot of criticism from strangers but you know what? My child was safe and alive. It wasn't the only time he had escaped from me, Houdini had nothing on this kid! My heart aches for both the driver and the parents however if the parent would have had her child on the "leash" they would still be alive.
i just don't understand how anyone but a total moron can let their 22 month old child out of their arms in a parking lot!!!!
throughout their growing years, whenever we went in public places (malls, stores, parking lots, etc) i always held both my son and daughter by the hand...ALWAYS!
i never, ever worried about anything ever happening to them...and nothing ever happened to them...NOTHING...and only because i was in constant physical contact with them...and when in the movies, they were sandwiched between me and their mother...
parents: never be satisfied with just having your children within sight in public places....things happen way too fast sometimes....accident, kidnapping, and who knows what else...and when in the playground, be right there with them and not 30 or 40 or 50 feet away...RIGHT THERE where they are...because things happen in mere instants...
please, PLEASE maintain constant PHYSICAL contact with your children, especially in public places...ALWAYS...and this way you can free your eyes for window-shopping, taking in the scenery, watching the game, etc, etc., and nothing will ever happen to them...NOTHING.
Thats it Al Gore was right!! We must now ban SUV's..................
First thing ever that Gore was right about.
People let those tiny kids run around in parking lots?
You can't even see kids that small no matter what kind of car it is.
I see it all the time, they let those small kids run around on the boardwalk also with bikes and skaters flying by.
Kids should be on play grounds not running around in parking lots or bike paths. Parents need to stop being stupid.
I was wondering when this was going to happen...particularly in grocery/retail store parking lots. I have witnessed too many times, the moms who allow their children to run ahead of them and somehow expect someone backing up to see their 2 1/2 foot tall child. If anyone needs to be cited, it should be the parent - since the child is not aware of the dangers of a vehicle. I cannot imagine the distress the driver must be under, not that I dont feel for the parent of the child, but if anyone is to blame, it would have to be the negligent parent. Upsetting article.
This should teach Mom's everywhere, that think it's ok to load the car after shopping, and know the little one is "drifting" a little in the parking lot. FIRST, PUT THE BABY IN THE CAR!! And, have them by the hand until doing that!! PARKING LOTS are very dangerous. Half the time can't tell if someone is in one of the parked suv's or cars because they are "up so high". Regardless, you can't take chances even for one minute!! This is a cruel lesson, but I hope Moms and Dads everywhere that read this will learn not to take a baby's safety for granted. Sometimes they can run out of luck. Poor little boy... RIP, little angel. Sympathies sent for his parents and family..
A terrible thing.
But this is America!
Who do we blame? Who do we sue?
The maker of the SUV for not anticipating such tragedies and including sensors and other much needed safety equipment and computer controls to prevent this from happening?
The driver of the SUV?
Will the mother of the child go to jail?
What about the softball team?
The owner of the parking lot? Surely they should have foreseen something like this and taken steps to prevent it!
You all are disgusted, but you wait. This is headed to court with squandered money to follow. Only attorneys will benefit.
And all of you calling for the mother's head - you sicken me. You're part of the problem.
Accidents happen.
Bury, cremate
Say adios
Tomorrow is another day of great news reporting
And all the morons of America
Whose neighbors do not even talk to
Get to spout off in these blogs
22 Dec.2012!!
I feel sorry for both parties. Though this was an avoidable accident. Everytime I am in a parking lot I see people doing stupid things. Why couldn't this mother use some common sense that there is no safe place or distance for a one year old to be running around in. I always made sure my children were in the car first before anything. People have the mistaken idea that since they are predestians that they are safe and drivers will always give them the right of way. Tough lesson to learn.
Who cares if it was an SUV or Toyoto Prius. Why the hell was a 1 year old left unattended. The mother was probably to busy jibberjabbering on her damn cell phone. A mother should have been holding the toddlers hand.
Again what is wrong with state of Florida. Every time you see a murder, kidnapping or rape it takes place in Florida.
James: Probably because Florida attracts so many of you from New York.
a mother lets a one year old wander around a full parking lot at night!!!!
EXACTLY
WHERE WAS THE MOTHER
NO MOM LETS GO OF A BABY IN A PARKING LOT OF ANY KIND
ESPECIALLY A SPORTING EVENT
The mother is more guilty than Zimmerman.
MOM DEFINATLY GUILTY
ZIMMERMAN,HE DESERVES A FAIR TRIAL
This is such an unfortunately tragic story. This was not the headline I was expecting my high school to make. Seeing the details pinpointed from Florida, to Titusville, to Titusville High. This was absolutely devastating to read this morning. I'm positive this will change minds about abandoning the rear view camera mandate on vehicles.
The driver was likely doing everything right, but will forever feel guilty. So sad.
rear view camera mandate on vehicles?
You must be joking. That would be stupid and increase costs. Even a camera might not pick up a little person.
Stupid idea. Sorry.
I'm sorry you feel that way. The real cost is minimal considering how widely spread the use of LCD screens and cameras are. Every little bit helps. I know the same was said of seat belts, airbags, and anti-lock brakes. Every vehicle starting with the 2012 model year is required to feature Electronic Stability Control. Last time I checked, people are still buying cars.
Why can't we make a ten thousand dollar car cost seventy thousand dollars? Just add every thing that could possibly prevent even one accident in the USA. Shouldn't be a problem, should it?
I love how people see any tragic event as a reason for another"mandate"....that's exactly why this country is so f#cked up! Liberals f#ck everything up.
What was a 22 month baby doing alone out behind a SUV? If the mother was out of the car at the time, I don't understand how he could have been away from her area of control? I wish the article had explained the situation better.
I guess I'm the only one who blames the driver. I don't think the driver should be charged or anything, and part of the blame for this unfortunate incident does lie with the child's guardian, but when you are operating a motor vehicle in a parking lot, extraordinary caution is required. If you have to back out of a parking spot[and I still say backing in should be the law] you need to start your car, get out and make sure there is nothing behind your car,[especially if there are children milling about] then get back in while keeping an eye on anyone who may walk behind, then back out very slowly. If this is too much of a hassle for you to go through, then back into the spot, problem solved.
so you should leave your "running car" unattended.........
I think in the case where you're in a parking lot with a toddler, the one responsible is the one watching the child. The child should never leave your sight. It only takes a second for a 1 year old to walk away. When you're backing up, you can't see a little child right behind you. An adult, yes. A toddler, no.
It doesn't matter though... really.
Yes, I guess you are the only one who would blame the driver.
You must just be unique.
Horrific! Our prayers to all involved, including the driver. God be with them.
Oh, grow a brain leroy brown. Do you do what you have just described? I look before I get in the car and keep checking the mirrors as I slowly back out, especially when there are taller vehicles on the sides of me. You cannot see a small child directly behind the vehicle. The mother should have had control of this child.
Accidents happen every day and people die including children. Why is this one story that newsworthy?
Because the power that be wish to make it a big story.
I always back into parking spots Wally. It sounds like you do almost exactly what I described. I doubt that the driver of the SUV, in this case, was as cautious.
Wally, this accident involved an SUV. That is the only reason MSDNC made it a big story.
Ahh leroy....you could just as easily back over a kid backing into a spot as you could backing out.....DUH!
I was waiting for someone to mention that. Backing IN or OUT requires.... drumroll..... Backing!