FORKS — West End residents are grieving the accidental death of a 3-year-old boy this week.
The child was caught under a pickup truck his mother was driving as she moved the vehicle in her back yard in the 200 block of Willow Avenue at about 4 p.m. Tuesday, Police Chief Mike Rowley said Thursday.
Rowley said an investigation by the Forks Police Department and Clallam County Sheriff’s Office concluded the child’s death was accidental.
Rowley said Thursday that the police report was still being written.
“No malice, no negligence occurred,” he said.
The boy was pronounced dead at Forks Community Hospital.
“This is exceptionally bad,” Rowley said.
“It’s going to hit our community really hard.”
City Planner-Attorney Rod Fleck said the mother is in her mid-20s.
“Anybody with kids, you know, you feel that sympathy even more so, and I think that’s kind of what the community attitude is,” he said.
Mayor Tim Fletcher offered condolences Wednesday in his daily recorded address on the city’s website, www.forkswashington.org.
“Please pray for the family that lost their child in a tragic accident [Tuesday] afternoon,” Fletcher said.
“They will need our support.”
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
