Parents charged with manslaughter after their 7-year-old son fatally struck by car in North Carolina
The parents of a 7-year-old boy who was fatally struck by a car while trying to cross a street in North Carolina have been charged with manslaughter and remain in jail on $1.5 million bond, police said.
The child was hit by a Jeep Cherokee on May 27 in Gastonia, located west of Charlotte, police said.
He was attempting to cross the street outside of a crosswalk with a 10-year-old boy when the crash occurred, according to the Gastonia Police Department. He suffered life-threatening injuries and died at a hospital.
His parents -- Jessica Ivey, 30, and Samuele Jenkins, 31 -- were charged two days after the deadly collision with felony involuntary manslaughter, felony child neglect and misdemeanor child neglect, police said.
The parents said the older child was the boy's brother, ABC Charlotte affiliate WSOC reported.
The Gastonia Police Department said in a press release that its investigation "revealed that the children involved were unsupervised at the time the boy stepped into traffic."
"In such cases, adults must be held accountable for their responsibilities to ensure a safe environment for their children," the department added.
A judge set the parents' bond at $1.5 million during a court appearance on Friday. They remain in custody in the Gaston County Jail, online jail records show. They have not yet entered a plea to the charges.
Ivey's public defender told ABC News he has no comment this early in the case. Jenkins' attorney said he was appointed to the case on Wednesday and had not received any documents yet.
The 76-year-old female driver of the Jeep has not been charged, police said.
"At this time, there is no evidence of speeding or wrongdoing on the part of the driver, therefore no charges have been filed," the Gastonia Police Department said. "The driver continues to be cooperative and the incident remains under active investigation by the Gastonia Police Department's Traffic Division."
Police did not release the name of the boy who was fatally struck, though his parents said his first name was Legend in an interview with WSOC prior to their arrest.
Ivey told the station that her two sons were walking the two blocks home from a shopping center for the first time on their own when the accident occurred, WSOC reported.
"It was just devastating. I'm still in shock," she told WSOC.
"It's hard. I haven't stopped crying. My husband hasn't stopped crying," she told the station.
Ivey added that she wanted "justice for my baby" against the driver, whose name has not been publicly released.
"I just don't feel like she should still be able to drive," Ivey told WSOC.
Jenkins told WSOC he was on the phone with his sons when the crash occurred.
"I heard my oldest son, he was like, 'Oh my God, Legend, no, no,'" he told the station. "So I hung up and ... I ran to find them."
The parents are next scheduled to appear in court on June 20.
