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From left: Sameule Jenkins, Jessica Ivey (Gaston County Sheriff’s Office) and Legend Jenkins (GoFundMe).
Sameule Jenkins and Jessica Ivey reportedly decided it was time for their 7 and 10-year-old sons to make their first independent walk home from the grocery store on Tuesday.
The decision proved deadly and now the parents are behind bars in North Carolina.
The Gastonia Police Department reported that officers were dispatched around 6 p.m. Tuesday to a traffic accident located in the 1000 block of West Hudson Boulevard, approximately 25 miles from Charlotte. Upon arrival, they discovered a 7-year-old boy named Legend Jenkins who had been struck 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 reassuring him that someone was there and he wasn’t alone,” Summer Williams shared with the outlet. “‘Hang in there, sweetheart. You’re going to be fine. 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.
