ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A 2-year-old boy was struck and killed Tuesday afternoon by a vehicle in Annapolis.
The incident was originally described as a hit-and-run, but police said this afternoon that apparently the driver didn't realize he had struck the child.
A mother and her children had just gotten out of a vehicle, in the 600 block of Americana Drive at about 3:53 p.m. Tuesday, said Annapolis police chief Ed Jackson.
The victim - identified as 2-year-old Cody Aguilar Gomez - "stepped off the curb and ran in front of the vehicle," said Jackson.
Emergency crews arrived, and the child was pronounced dead.
The driver later contacted the police.
Jackson asked all Annapolitans, and Marylanders at large, to pray for the family.
He said at a press conference:
My thoughts and my prayers are with the Gomez family for this very horrific and tragic accident involving a baby, is what it was... This was just an unfortunate, very unfortunate, tragic accident... Most of us can't imagine as we go through out day that we would lose our 2-year-old child.
Police said they originally got multiple calls for a child struck by a vehicle.
Jackson said police, in consultation with the State's Attorney's Office, determined that the incident was an accident, and there was "no criminal intent."
Police Capt. Lamar Howard also read a statement on behalf of Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley that noted:
We want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to support the family in this time of grief.
Police will have mobile crisis and critical incident teams in the community for support. The contact number for the teams is 410-768-5522.
A GoFundMe page for the child has raised more than $6,700 as of Wednesday afternoon.
This was the second child struck by a vehicle in Anne Arundel County/Annapolis on Tuesday.
A hit-and-run also happened in Pasadena, with non-life-threatening injuries, earlier in the day.
