Parents face neglect, manslaughter charges after 7-year-old son hit and killed by car
The parents of a 7-year-old boy who was hit and killed while crossing a busy Gastonia street were arrested on Thursday.
Jessica Ivey Jenkins, 30, and Sameule Jenkins, 31, were charged with felony involuntary manslaughter, felony child neglect and misdemeanor child neglect in the death of their son, Legend, according to Gastonia Police.
Legend, a second grader at H.H. Beam Elementary School, was struck and killed by a Jeep Cherokee driven by a 76-year-old woman about 6 p.m. Tuesday while he was attempting to cross West Hudson Boulevard, near the Gaston County Health Department. Legend was with his 10-year-old brother at the time he was killed.
Jessica Ivey Jenkins said in an earlier interview that she had been shopping at Food Lion, and she allowed Legend and his older brother to walk from the grocery store to their home, which is nearby. It was the first time she had let her children cross that street alone.
"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. In such cases, adults must be held accountable for their responsibilities to ensure a safe environment for their children," the police department said in a press release. "At this time, there is no evidence of speeding or wrongdoing on the part of the driver, therefore no charges have been filed."
Both parents are being held without bond.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Parents of 7-year-old boy charged in fatal wreck
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