Child, 10, struck by SUV succumbs to injuries
By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on November 13, 2009 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/BOBBY WILLIAMS
NCHP Trooper Adam Fowler, investigating officer, and 1st Sgt. Jerry Burton look over the scene of an accident this morning on Stevens Mill Road near Swine Road at which a 10-year-old Grantham School student was hit after running into the street while waiting for his bus.
Dakota Medlin, the 10-year-old boy who was struck by an SUV after running into the road Friday morning died from his injuries at Pitt Memorial Hospital Friday afternoon, state Highway Patrol officials have confirmed.
The child, who was a student at Grantham School was critically injured early this morning after reportedly running in front of an SUV on Stevens Mill Road, state authorities said.
He was struck by a 2002 Chevy Trailblazer around 6:55 a.m. today, Highway Patrol Trooper Adam Fowler said.
Dakota was transported by ambulance to Wayne Memorial Hospital, where medical workers rushed to stabilize him for transport, authorities said.
The 10-year-old was then transported by medical helicopter to Pitt Memorial Hospital where he later died.
Neighbors told authorities that Dakota was seen playing around Swine Road, near his father's residence, early this morning. Dakota reportedly ran into the street without looking, witnesses told the trooper.
The child was apparently waiting for a school bus to pick him up, which had not arrived.
Dakota crossed the street, possibly because he needed to wait for the school bus on the opposite side of the road, the trooper said.
"He jumped a ditch and never looked out into the road to see where he was going," Fowler said. "He ran in front of the car."
No charges are expected to be filed against the driver, Wendy Jones, 32, of Four Oaks, the trooper said.
Neighbors and local police officers on the scene declined to comment on the incident.
School officials said this morning that Grantham School principal Lisa Tart had gone to the hospital and that counseling staff was being dispatched to the school to be available to staff and students.
For more details read the Sunday edition of the Goldsboro News-Argus.