PASADENA BOY RUN OVER BY MOM'S SUV AT SCHOOL
Official says four children were left in running car as mother went into Pasadena school

May 19, 2007
Houston Chronicle - Houston, TX



By ANITA HASSAN and KEVIN MORAN

A 5-year-old boy died just hours after being run over by his mother's car in the parking lot of a Pasadena school Friday morning, school officials said.

The boy, whose name is being withheld, was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital via Life Flight after the 11:15 a.m. accident at Young Elementary School. The child, who was not a student at the school in the 4200 block of Fox Meadow Lane, died about 5:30 p.m., authorities said.

The accident occurred when the boy's mother went inside the school where two of children are students and left the boy and her three other children inside the sport utility vehicle while it was running in the front driveway of the school, said Pasadena ISD Superintendent Kirk Lewis.

"While she was inside, he (the 5-year-old) hit the gearshift somehow," Lewis said. The car then went into reverse and the boy opened the door, he said.

"He either fell or jumped out of the car, got caught under the wheel and the car ran over him," Lewis said. The other children weren't injured.

Pasadena police are investigating the accident along with school district officials.

There was no word on whether the boy's mother would face any criminal charges, said Pasadena police spokesman Vance Mitchell.

"It's very early in the investigation," he said. "And I don't know what the outcome will be right now."

anita.hassan@chron.com; kevin.moran@chron.com

Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle