HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – A 1-year-old boy was struck by an SUV Saturday morning at a campsite in Ginnie Springs and died from his injuries, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Troopers said the SUV was parked at a campsite in Ginnie Springs Outdoors primitive camping area just before 8:30 a.m. when the driver, a 26-year-old man, reversed and then made a left turn within the campsite.
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The driver didn’t realize a 1-year-old boy had wandered into the path of the SUV, troopers said.
The boy was hit by the passenger side front tire. He was airlifted to Shands UF Hospital in Gainesville, where he died from his injuries.
The FHP report does not disclose the relationship between the driver and the 1-year-old, but both are listed as being from Lehigh Acres, Florida.
According to Parents.com, about 400 children aged 15 and under are killed each year after being hit by a vehicle. In addition, every year, 1,700 children under the age of 16 are killed and 240,000 are injured in car accidents.
The Florida Department of Children and Families shows 36 children died in the state in 2020 from “accidental trauma,” which includes fatal crashes.