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Sheriff: 4-year-old struck by vehicle after leaving Florence home while family slept has died

Florence Weaver Road Child Struck By Vehicle
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FLORENCE, Ky. — A 4-year-old boy hit by a driver early Sunday morning has died, according to the Boone County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies said Jamison Beck was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital after the crash, where he died Monday morning.

The sheriff's office said deputies responded to a crash involving a pedestrian on the Weaver Road overpass near Interstate 75 around 1 a.m.

Deputies found that a 50-year-old woman driving westbound on Weaver Road noticed another vehicle stopped in the eastbound lane flashing their headlights at her. This caused the woman to slow her vehicle down to 30 mph in the normally 50 mph roadway, the sheriff's office said.

The sheriff's office said the driver in the eastbound lane saw a young boy standing at the edge of the roadway unsupervised, turned around and stopped in traffic to attempt to make contact with the child. At this time, the child, who was autistic and nonverbal, was struck by the driver headed westbound when the child walked into the roadway from the right shoulder.

Deputies performed life-saving measures on scene, and the child was airlifted to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, the sheriff's office said.

The sheriff's office said the 50-year-old woman couldn't see the boy due to the night conditions on that stretch of Weaver Road, which is unlit. The woman did stay on scene after the crash, and deputies found that speed, alcohol and drugs were not factors in the crash.

Joshua Altman was another driver on Weaver Road who saw the flashing lights. After the crash, he told WCPO 9 he didn't hesitate to put his Navy medical training to use.

"I checked to see if he still had a pulse and trying to take care of him best we could," Altman said. "... I was just trying to keep him awake, trying to talk to him, trying to help him with everything. It was just heartbreaking watching the situation unfold."

The sheriff's office found that the boy had left his family's residence at a nearby apartment complex on Mission Lane after his family had gone to bed. The apartment complex is roughly a 10-minute walk from where the crash occurred.

No charges have been filed at this time, but the sheriff's office said the family of the child and the 50-year-old woman are all cooperating.

The Boone County Sheriff's Office is investigating the crash, while the Florence Police Department is handling the investigation and circumstances at the child's home where he was able to leave.

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