KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CBSNews) — A boy has died after being struck by a trash truck in the area of 100th and Drury.
The boy was 8 years old and his best friend witnessed it.
Friday (Dec. 8) was trash day in the neighborhood and the boy was hit by a trash truck.
At the scene, a little red wagon that had been crushed by the truck in the collision could be seen.
The driver told police that he didn’t see the children until neighbors yelled at him, at which point he had already run over the boy.
He lived with his mother up north, but spent many days with at his grandparents’ house across the street.
One neighbor said that his grandparents did watch the two children and would call out if they couldn’t see them.
One woman said he was the first person in the neighborhood to introduce himself to her and that he was with his 9-year-old friend all the time.
“I hate that this happened to him,” said Monica Thomas. “He’s a sweet little boy. He spoke to me more than adults did around here when I first moved here.”
“They come to the house and talk to me all the time,” she said. “They would come and knock on the door like grown people, say, ‘Hi! How you doing?’ His little friend, he would ask me about cutting the grass. They were going to start a lawnmower service one day. But then they said, ‘We can’t cut the grass because we can’t be out there late’ and then the lawnmower broke down.”
She smiled at that memory but said her heart hurts.
“My heart goes out to the family and I’m just sorry for them,” she said. “I’m just really hurt by this. It’s sad. It really is.”
The 9 year old did go to the hospital, but just as a precaution.
The truck involved was a Town & Country trash or recycling truck, which is contracted by the city for trash removal. The truck has been released to the owner.
The driver stopped immediately and did stay at the scene and was released pending further investigation. Police said he showed no signs of impairment.
Some who live on the block weren’t just sad, but also frustrated.
“They’re always out playing in the street,” said neighbor Beverly Brackson, with regard to the children in the neighborhood in general. “I think they should be on the sidewalk as young as they are.”
“I knew one day it was going to happen,” said neighbor Talonda Southerlin.
