From left: Sameule Jenkins, Jessica Ivey (Gaston County Sheriff’s Office) and Legend Jenkins (GoFundMe).
Sameule Jenkins and Jessica Ivey allegedly decided to let their sons, ages 7 and 10, walk home from the grocery store on their own for the first time on Tuesday.
The decision proved deadly and now the parents are behind bars in North Carolina.
According to the Gastonia Police Department, officers responded shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday to a traffic accident in the 1000 block of West Hudson Boulevard, some 25 miles west of Charlotte. When they arrived they found a 7-year-old boy later identified as Legend Jenkins had been hit by a Jeep Cherokee driven by a 76-year-old woman.
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Cops later learned Legend ran out into oncoming traffic. His older brother tried to pull him back but it was too late, and he was struck by the Jeep.
Local ABC affiliate WSOC spoke with a witness who tried to comfort Legend as they waited for first responders to arrive.
“Just letting him know that somebody was there and he wasn’t alone,” Summer Williams told the outlet. “‘Stay with us, sweetheart. You’re going to be alright. Stay with us.””
Paramedics rushed him to a local hospital and he was later transferred to a children’s hospital in Charlotte. Legend succumbed to his injuries about four hours after the accident.
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On Thursday, cops arrested Jenkins and Ivey on charges of involuntary manslaughter and child neglect.
“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,” the agency said in a Facebook post. “In such cases, adults must be held accountable for their responsibilities to ensure a safe environment for their children.”
The driver is not expected to be charged as there is no evidence of speeding wrongdoing on her part, per police.
Before her arrest, Ivey explained to the Gaston Gazette they were shopping at a grocery store when she allowed the boys to walk home, which is nearby, alone. It was the first time she allowed them to do so.
At their bond hearing Friday, both parents requested to be released from jail so they could attend their son’s funeral, according to WSOC. The judge set their bond at $1.5 million each.
For Williams witnessing the accident has left a lasting impact.
“Even at night, I still see his face,” she said.
