No charges filed in Asheville toddler’s death
ASHEVILLE – No charges will be filed against the driver who was involved in an accident that killed a 1-year-old boy, city police said Wednesday.
Lucious Bernard Sullivan III was struck and killed when a man’s vehicle hit him in the street Saturday.
The driver turned from Brad Street onto West Chapel Circle about 3:30 p.m. and saw several children standing on the left side of the road and began to slow down, police said. As the driver approached 29 West Chapel Circle, the child darted into the street from between two parked cars on the right side of the road and into the path of the man’s 2004 Jeep Cherokee, police said.
The man told police he felt a bump under the right side of his SUV as he passed the children on the left. He thought he ran over a toy, according to the police accident report.
“The child hit the front right corner of the Jeep Cherokee causing his left foot to be run over by the front right tire,” Asheville police Sgt. Dave Romick said in an email. “This caused the child to go onto the pavement which caused internal head trauma.”
The 58-year-old driver was going about 15-20 mph, police said. Investigators determined the toddler needed to be at least 12 feet in front of the SUV because of the height of the vehicle and height of the the child.
The driver tested negative for alcohol, police said.
Sullivan was at a birthday party when the accident happened in front of the his grandmother’s home, which is off Hendersonville Road in the Shiloh community. He was playing with a small riding toy when he rolled into the road on West Chapel Circle and was struck, family members said.
The driver stopped and parked a few feet west of the accident, the police accident report said. The toddler was not dragged by the SUV, Romick said.
Investigators consulted the Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office during the investigation.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in this sad and tragic loss of life,” Asheville Police Chief William Anderson said.