Tips For Preventing Tragedy After 5-Year-Old Killed In Driveway: Safety Expert

ST. CHARLES, IL — Following the death of a 5-year-old boy who was hit by a vehicle by a family member in their St. Charles driveway, public safety officials are reminding residents of the importance of taking steps to prevent similar tragedies.

The St. Charles incident happened in the 4000 block of Royal Fox Drive in St. Charles Tuesday evening, authorities said Wednesday. Patch reached out to police to learn more about how the incident occurred, but has not heard back as of Saturday night.

Police did say the person who hit the child — an immediate family member — was cooperating with their investigation.

• Child, 5, Dies After Being Hit By Car In Driveway In St. Charles: Cops

Amber Rollins-Reis, director for Kids and Car Safety, said there's several steps parents can take to educate their children and "heighten their awareness" before they get behind the wheel to prevent similar tragedies.

Among the most important steps is to talk to children starting at a young age about the dangers of moving vehicles.

"Even children who know about vehicle dangers can place themselves in dangerous situations," Rollins-Reis said. "It only takes one brief moment of distraction or a ball rolling out into the path of a vehicle to suddenly end a life."

Here are other things you can tell children:

• Parked vehicles might move. Warning signs children should watch for include a running engine, reverse lights (white lights) and brake lights (red lights) or smoke coming from the exhaust pipe on a vehicle
• The driver cannot see you in front, on the sides or behind the vehicle
• Never walk behind or in front of a running vehicle
• Never play in parking lots, driveways, streets or cul-de-sacs unsupervised
• When walking on the sidewalk, watch for cars pulling into or leaving driveways and cars turning

Drivers should remember that "young children are impulsive and unpredictable and still have poor judgment and little understanding of danger," Rollins-Reis said.

One things parents can do to help keep their children safe is to install door alarms on the doors leading to the outside of their homes "o you know any time someone is leaving the home," she said.

"Many toddlers sneak out of the home and are then run over. You can also use childproofing door knob and handle covers to prevent children from leaving unnoticed," Rollins-Reis said.

Other tips for parents include:

• Create habits to ensure children are directly supervised every time someone is arriving or leaving the home. This is when most tragedies at the home occur. An example of a routine you can implement at your home it to, before leaving the home, verbally and visually confirm that all children are with an adult who is actively supervising them. The supervising adult should then stay in direct contact with all children until the person leaving is safely out of sight
• Walk completely around your vehicle, scanning the area for children and pets prior to moving a vehicle
• Never allow young children to walk through parking lots alone. Young children should always be carried or placed in a stroller or shopping cart. Even holding hands cannot prevent a child from darting away