4-year-old boy struck and killed by Dodge Ram pick-up truck on the beach in New Smyrna Beach

Courtesy photos for NSBNEWS.net.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers cordon off the area where a 4-year-old boy was struck and killed on the beach Sunday after darting in front of a Dodge Ram.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A 4-year-old boy was struck and killed on the beach just after 3 this afternoon by a Dodge Ram pick-up truck fitted with large tires after darting in front of the driver who told authorities he never saw the child as the large front right tire ran over him in front of horrified beach-goers.

"The whole beach got real quiet for a second," one woman said, after the initial hysteria of seeing the accident and jumping on cell phones to call 9-1-1, just north of the Flagler Avenue Beach Approach.

The boy, whom witnesses said was heading for the water from a row of parked vehicles where his parents were, when he ran into the path of the truck, did not have a pulse and was not breathing when Beach Patrol paramedics arrived and took over CPR that a beach goer had been performing.

The boy's parents also ran to him, witnesses said.
The boy, identified as Aiden Patrick of Daytona Beach, was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at Bert Fish Medical Center.

A preliminary investigation indicated the driver, 33-year-old Donovan Sias of New Smyrna Beach, was not speeding while in the southbound lane, and told troopers he did not see the child, Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Kim Montes said in a press release.

Eyewitnesses confirmed for troopers the driver was not speeding.
The 2000 Dodge Ram was towed from the scene a couple hours later so troopers could complete their investigation.

More than 40 people have been struck by motor vehicles on Volusia County beaches over the past five years, according to the Beach Patrol, including three earlier this year -- 4-year-old Ellie Brand of England, struck and killed by a Lincoln Town Car in Daytona Beach in March, a woman slightly injured while sunbathing next to her car in New Smyrna Beach and a second woman more recently who suffered serious injuries in Daytona Beach when she was run over by a Beach Patrol officer who was ticketed for careless driving while making a turn.