5-year-old boy dies after struck by car driven by father

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A 5-year-old Indiana boy died Sunday, hours after he was struck by a vehicle driven by his father in the parking lot of a playground at a South Bend apartment complex, authorities said.

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Jeremiah Holmes was pronounced dead Sunday night at an area hospital, the South Bend Tribune reported. The child’s father, Christopher Holmes, 28, of South Bend, was cooperating with investigators, according to the newspaper.

Police were called around 10:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday to the Castle Point Apartments after receiving a call about an unresponsive child, WDNU-TV reported.

According to a news release from the St. Joseph County Police Department, officers discovered that the child’s father had accidentally run over the boy in the parking lot of the apartment complex’s playground, the Tribune reported.

Police described the scene as “chaotic” and originally, there were reports that the child had been severely injured after being shot in the head, according to WNDU. Those reports were quickly dispelled when police arrived at the scene.

An investigation is ongoing and is being headed by the St. Joseph County Fatal Crash Team, the television station reported.