A 2-year-old Virginia boy is dead after being struck by a vehicle in the driveway of his home.
Fairfax County police said the boy’s father was backing out of the driveway in his 2005 Ford F350 when Bairon Alexander Zapata Castillo — known as Alex — was hit.
Police do not suspect foul play and said alcohol was not a factor. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Our hearts are heavy to announce the tragic passing of little Bairon,” the boy’s aunt, Monica Gudiel, wrote on a GoFundMe page established to help with funeral expenses. “A parent should never have to go through the pain my cousin/sister and her husband are going through losing their toddler in a very tragic way.”
Alex’s father, Byrol Zapata, told Telemundo 44 he told the boy to stay inside.
“He said, ‘OK, Daddy.’ But I didn’t realize when he came out again,” the father said. “When the truck accident happened, it was too late.”
Alex’s mother, Kelly Castillo, told NBC Washington her husband was outside trying to fix his truck. “Then when he was about to back up, he took him inside and left him inside, but I didn’t see when he got out,” she said. “My 4-year-old daughter saw the whole incident.”
As reported by NBC’s “TODAY,” the nonprofit Kids and Cars estimates at least 50 children each week in the U.S. are backed over by a vehicle. It offers the following recommendations on its website:
- Use rearview cameras and sensors on your vehicle.
- Keep home doors locked and install locks at the top of doors in your home so children cannot get outside on their own.
- Create habits to ensure children are directly supervised every time someone is arriving or leaving the home.
- Walk completely around your vehicle scanning the area for children and pets prior to moving a vehicle.
- Do not allow children to play in driveways, cul‐de‐sacs or parking lots unsupervised.
- Roll down the driver’s side window when backing so you can hear if someone is warning you to stop.
- Trim landscaping around the driveway to ensure drivers can see the sidewalk, street and pedestrians clearly when backing out of their driveway.
- Be especially careful about keeping children safe in and around cars during busy times, schedule changes and periods of crisis or holidays.
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