Police Investigate After 5-Year-Old Dies In Alleged Hit-And-Run
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Authorities in St. Joseph say they have seized a car and are speaking with a driver in connection to an alleged hit-and-run that left a 5-year-old boy dead.
Chief Joel Klein of the St. Joseph Police Department says the hit-and-run happened shortly after 2:33 p.m. Monday on the 300 block of 1st Avenue NW. Investigators determined that the victim, identified as Cody Nuckolls, was standing in front of his home when he was struck by a car.
The boy's mother, Lorraine Hipp, told officers that she and her son had been outside waiting for another child to get off a school bus when the incident occurred, Klein said. The mother said she crossed 1st Avenue to wait for the bus while her son waited near their home.
When the bus came, it blocked the mother's view of her son. But Hipp heard Cody yell out shortly after, so she crossed the street and saw her son fall to the ground.
At first, Hipp thought Cody was suffering from an unknown medical issue. So she and the boy's father, William Nuckolls, brought the child to CentraCare Plaza. An ambulance then brought the boy to St. Cloud Hospital, where he later died.
An autopsy will determine the 5-year-old's cause and manner of death.
Klein said investigators reviewed video on the school bus and spoke to the children who were riding it. It was then determined that a Chevrolet TrailBlazer hit Cody on the road in front of his house.
Police say they have identified the TrailBlazer's driver, who lives in the area and is cooperating with authorities. The driver's name has yet to be released.
According to police, the TrailBlazer was seized and a search will be performed on the vehicle.
Klein said the investigation is still on-going.
