Pickup hits, kills boy on beach - News

Pickup hits, kills boy on beach - News


Pickup hits, kills boy on beach
By EILEEN ZAFFIRO, Staff Writer
July 19, 2010 12:05 AM Posted in: Beach - East Volusia Tagged:beach driving , traffic fatalities The Florida Highway Patrol and the Volusia County Beach Patrol investigate the scene where a little boy was run over by a red Dodge truck in New Smyrna Beach on Sunday. The boy died of his injuries.


N-J | Sean McNeil NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- It started as one of those picture-perfect moments on the beach Sunday afternoon, a little boy in his swim trunks flitting around on the sand.

In the blink of an eye, the 4-year-old was underneath a large red pickup, fighting for his life. Moments later, a swarm of paramedics pumped the Daytona Beach boy's chest and tried to breath life back into him, but the efforts didn't work.

The child, Aiden Patrick, was pronounced dead a short time later at Bert Fish Medical Center.

Patrick was with his parents shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday, standing near a row of parked cars on the beach a short distance north of Flagler Avenue, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, which is investigating the accident.

Witnesses told investigators the boy ran toward the water and into the path of the truck, which was southbound in the beach traffic lanes. The preliminary investigation indicates the driver, 33-year-old Donovan Sias of New Smyrna Beach, was not speeding and couldn't see the child.

The truck's front right tire ran over the boy, according to the FHP. Sias was not injured.

No charges were filed Sunday; Sias's truck was towed from the scene.

Gianna Heath was relaxing under an umbrella a stone's throw away from the accident, and she walked into a heartbreaking scene when she ventured over to see if she could help. Heath saw the boy lying between the front and back tires of the truck on the passenger side before an army of emergency workers arrived and tried to save him.

"I saw the family holding the child, telling him they were there," said Heath, a 37-year-old mother of two from South Carolina who was on her second day of vacation in New Smyrna Beach. "I only saw the aftermath, but I could tell it was very serious. The parents were calling the baby's name, holding the baby in their arms."

The accident happened about 3:15 p.m., when the tide was still high and water was pushing toward the driving lanes. Just after 3:30 p.m., the tyke did not have a pulse and was not breathing as EVAC Ambulance paramedics transported him to the hospital, said EVAC spokesman Mark O'Keefe.

The child was pronounced dead at the hospital, O'Keefe said.

Patrick became at least the fourth person this year to be hit or run over by a vehicle on the beach.

In March, a 4-year-old girl was killed when she was hit by a car as she walked toward the ocean. In April, a 23-year-old Orlando woman was injured when an SUV rolled over her, and in June a 52-year-old Daytona Beach woman was injured when a pickup driven by a Beach Patrol officer ran over her.

Last year, six people were hit or run over on the beach.

People soaking in the sun and dipping in the ocean Sunday were shocked to hear what happened.

"It happens too much," said Sean Ronan, who was visiting from Oviedo. "If it's a visibility thing, maybe only cars should be allowed out here, and not trucks."

Liz and John Ostrow, visiting from New York, were just north of the wreck and watched the tragedy unfold.

"The paramedics were working so hard," Liz Ostrow said. "There were a lot of people on top of him, and they did not stop for a second. ... Such a poor baby."

The Ostrows said they're puzzled why cars are even allowed on the beach.

"I don't see any sense in it," John Ostrow said. "People can't be that lazy. They shouldn't allow driving here at all. What a sad day."

Beach driving is a topic that has stirred debate this year among Volusia County Council members. Councilman Carl Persis has led a charge to find a way to reduce cars on the beach, possibly changing driving to only one-way flows or blocking vehicles completely in more areas.

So far, he hasn't had enough support to spur a study or change beach driving policy.

"It's just another tragedy," Persis said Sunday night. "How many people have to be killed or injured before we say something has to change? We can't just pretend like we don't have a problem."

Persis said he plans to discuss beach driving at this Thursday's County Council meeting. As a local resident since the 1950s, he said he understands the "passion for driving on the beach."

"But at some point we have to realize things have changed," he said. "The beach is narrower, the sand is softer. People are distracted with cell phones."

Persis isn't convinced Sunday's death will make a difference.

"I've been through it so many times, it's almost like here we go," he said. "I guess it's not horrible enough yet to want to do something about it."



"My prayers are with the family," Heath said. "I pray God will use this to draw them closer to him."
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