I'm SO mad at this story. There is no reason to charge the parents. As others have stated, helicoptering kiddos is detrimental, and they need to be allowed to roam their environment -- That can come at the cost of danger, but we cannot be expected to grow with 0 risk.

Sure, as a parent, you can state: 'don't go there', and 'always look both ways', but kids are kids and there's only so much you can enforce without being overbearing. In this scenario, without video evidence, there's no clear conclusion about fault for either the driver or the child.

I'm okay with letting the driver off (criminally, let insurance pay the family but don't put the driver in jail) and acknowledging this as an accidental death, especially since he stuck around and is complying. Charging the parents for negligence, though, is just fucking brutal when they are suffering the loss of a child, not to mention the impact on the older son, who probably is feeling an unreasonable amount unreasonable of guilt: "I could have held his hand; I could have reminded him of the road..." (not his quotes, my presumed internal dialog). Again, as others have stated, this is a city planning problem, not a parental one: If there was a way to walk to a grocery store that didn't cross a 4-lane road, that'd be a better option, but there are plenty of places where that is not possible.

These parents do NOT need the extra burden of being held legally liable for an accident and anyone blaming them for this without knowing them personally and being able to describe other aspects of their parent as negligent is just an asshole.

They got it backwards. I will hold the road planners, the city government, the driving license issuer, and the driver responsible. It start with poorly designed roads and ends with poor driver training. The parents are the victims here.

This is absolute bullshit, just because the US is incapable of making good walkable neighbourhoods doesn't mean the parents are at fault of letting their childeren be normal.

This some serious bullshit not even the cops can't be that heartless ... Oh wait the parents are black ... in North Carolina ...

I walked two blocks between home and school every day when I was 7. This is insane.

Never blame the asshole in the car. Always blame someone else.

Anything to shift accountability away from drivers, huh? Cars and the people behind the wheel of them are just an unavoidable force of nature now?

The us is so fucked. I've been letting my kid take the buss to the other side of town alone since she was 9. And traffic accidents are very rare despite most neighbourhoods not having sidewalks at all. Of course we drive a lot slower and it takes months of obligatory coursework to be eligible to take a driving test. https://www.vegvesen.no/en/driving-licences/driver-training/how-to-get-a-driving-licence/passenger-car--b/

District Attorney Travis Page. Gaston County. Prosecutorial District 38. (704) 852-3113. Tell him your thoughts.

I bet it's in a Republican shithole city in a Republican shithole state?

I don't even have to check

Was the driver driving a child-killing American truck? If so, both the driver and car company should be charged with voluntary manslaughter.

They knew this was going to happen, yet they still bought and produced the child-killing tank.

This feels like an origin story for a Punisher reboot.

Mountains of shame looking for someone to blame in the dum dum land of lowest common denominator. This Yankeeland, this imperialist empire, this empty vessel of lesser things, this pit of despair we lean into the Edward Bernays dreamland of sucking the tit of the rotton corpse of the rugged individualtic mother. Ohhhh the humanity. Ohhhhh the humanity thots and prayerzzzzzzz. Fascist are the useful idiots of empire and capitalism and fascism are like peas and carrots. The liberals are fascist. You call me negative and I think you are stupid. Welcome to the lords and ladies of the clown kingdumb. The leader is a follower ,the follower is a leader that is dead. If their is a hell it is inside your head. Nothing WILL EVER change in Yankeeland. It is like demanding for HBO in Alcatraz. You can not solve generational issues until the boomers in office finally die this won't happen in your lifetime. This evil empire is gonna set the world on fire.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...I was riding my bicycle alone at age 7.

My sister and I played outside until it was dark. Then my dad would blow a whistle so loud that the entire neighborhood would hear it and come home.