The grieving parents of a 7-year-old child who died hours after being hit by a car were charged with involuntary manslaughter after allowing him and his brother, 10, to walk home unaccompanied by an adult from a nearby grocery store.

The 76-year-old driver will not face any charges.

The Food Lion store is two blocks away from their home. The parents said the children were with their mother when they asked to meet their father at the store, and she allowed them to leave

Gastonia police declined to comment to NBC News, but said in a statement that “there is no evidence of speeding or wrongdoing on the part of the driver, therefore no charges have been filed. The driver continues to be cooperative and the incident remains under active investigation by the Gastonia Police Department’s Traffic Division.”

Ivey, the mother, told WSOC before her arrest that it was the first time had she let the children walk alone. “It was just devastating, I’m still in shock, I’m in shock,” she said. “It’s hard, I haven’t stopped crying; my husband hasn’t stopped crying. Honestly, I want justice for my baby.”

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[+] 37 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)
  • [–] 36 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    yells-at-cloud Back in my day, I would walk to school by myself when I was in elementary school. By middle school, I was walking two blocks to hang out at a friend's house every weekend. I would walk to the corner store at the end of the street to buy snacks if I had the money. I would ride my bike a handful of miles from home to go to the arcade at the mall nearby. In the 80s they made movies about kids walking along train tracks to find a dead body!

    I mean, the obvious motivation here is racism, as other commenters have pointed out.

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