The parents of a 7-year-old boy who was fatally struck by a car in North Carolina have been charged with involuntary manslaughter for letting him and his brother walk home alone from a grocery store.
Little Legend Jenkins was with his 10-year-old brother in Gastonia last Tuesday when he ran into traffic and was hit by a jeep driven by a 76-year-old woman, according to the Gastonia Police Department.
His mom, Jessica Ivey, told WSCOC it was the first time she had allowed her sons to walk to the nearby grocery store.
Ivey and the boys’ father, Samuele Jenkins, were arrested Thursday and each charged with involuntary manslaughter and child neglect, both felonies.
They were denied permission to attend their son’s funeral, instead getting slapped with a $1.5 million bond, the highest possible.
“While the Gastonia Police Department offers its deepest sympathies to the family for the heartbreaking loss of their child, the investigation revealed that the children involved were unsupervised at the time the boy stepped into traffic,” police said in a statement.
“In such cases, adults must be held accountable for their responsibilities to ensure a safe environment for their children.”
The driver will not face any charges as police found no evidence of speeding or wrongdoing on her part.
A witness to the deadly crash, Summer Williams, said the boy was hit after darting out into the street as his brother tried to hold him back. She immediately stopped her car and held the dying boy in her arms.
“Even at night, I still see his face,” the witness recalled.
She said she tried to comfort the 7-year-old as they waited for responders to arrive.
“Just letting him know that somebody was there and he wasn’t alone. ‘Stay with us, sweetheart. You’re going to be all right. Stay with us,’” Williams said.
Legend died from his injuries at the hospital hours later.
