Unrestrained 5-Year-Old Dies After Falling Out Of Truck In Tampa

TAMPA, FL — A 5-year-old child was killed when after opening a truck door while it was moving and falling onto the road.

On Thursday at 3:29 p.m., a man was driving a 2007 Nissan Titan west on East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and made a right turn onto northbound North 56th Street in Tampa, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. As the driver completed the right turn, an unrestrained 5-year-old sitting in the rear left passenger seat opened the rear left door and fell out of the truck onto North 56th Street.

The father of the child, who was in the front right passenger seat, alerted the driver who immediately stopped the truck but the truck's tires were on top of the child's legs. The father alerted the driver who pulled forward, and the father grabbed the child.

The driver, the father and cousins in the truck were on their way to the hospital when they saw a Tampa police officer on North 50th Street at East 23rd Avenue. They flagged down the officer and requested assistance.

The child was transported to the hospital and later died from the injuries.

Two other young children in the truck were restrained in car seats and were not injured.