1-year-old dies after being struck by father’s truck in southwest Charlotte, police say
A toddler has died after his father struck him with his pickup truck as he backed out of the family’s driveway Monday night, police said.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police responded to Atrium Health-Pineville at 8:49 p.m., Monday regarding a 1-year-old named Mateo Jaciel Ayala-Martinez who had life-threatening injuries after being struck by a vehicle.
At the hospital, officers spoke with Mateo’s parents and identified the incident location on Huntsmoor Drive, police said. There, officers found a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado, which they determined was the vehicle involved in the accident.
Police identified Mateo’s father, Elgar Orlando Ayala, as the driver of the Chevrolet.
The preliminary investigation indicates that Ayala relocated the Chevrolet in the driveway to a different spot, police said. Ayala told officers that he pulled slightly forward before beginning to back up. Then he heard his son yelling.
When Ayala got of the vehicle, he saw that he had hit his son with the pickup truck, he told police. Mateo’s mother was inside the home when the accident happened. Both parents told police they thought their son was inside the residence.
The parents took Mateo to Atrium-Health Pineville, but shortly after his arrival, he was flown to Atrium Health Main due to his life-threatening injuries, police said.
At 4:24 a.m. on Tuesday, Mateo died, police said.
No one has been charged, a CMPD spokesman told the Observer.
Anyone who witnessed or has information about the incident can call Detective Mercedes at 704-432-2169, ext. 5, or leave information anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or http://charlottecrimestoppers.com/.
