The grieving parents of a 7-year-old child who died hours after being hit by a car were charged with involuntary manslaughter after allowing him and his brother, 10, to walk home unaccompanied by an adult from a nearby grocery store.

The 76-year-old driver will not face any charges.

The Food Lion store is two blocks away from their home. The parents said the children were with their mother when they asked to meet their father at the store, and she allowed them to leave

Gastonia police declined to comment to NBC News, but said in a statement that “there is no evidence of speeding or wrongdoing on the part of the driver, therefore no charges have been filed. The driver continues to be cooperative and the incident remains under active investigation by the Gastonia Police Department’s Traffic Division.”

Ivey, the mother, told WSOC before her arrest that it was the first time had she let the children walk alone. “It was just devastating, I’m still in shock, I’m in shock,” she said. “It’s hard, I haven’t stopped crying; my husband hasn’t stopped crying. Honestly, I want justice for my baby.”

  • Bruja [she/her, love/loves]@hexbear.net
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    4 days ago

    The article is trash and muddies the details. They were walking home from the store. Kids that age certainly are going to not want to be grocery shopping with their mom for long. One of the boys wasn’t hit, he was on the phone with the father who heard the whole incident.

    The parents being a black dad and white mom probably has a lot to do with the charges in a state where anti miscegenation laws prevented interracial marriage until 1977. The driver and the police chief were alive and experienced relationships like this as illegal.