Background: The home on Spartan Loop in Slidell, Louisiana, where the child was killed (WWL/YouTube). Inset: Kristen Anders (Slidell Police Department).
A child was waiting for a school bus in eastern Louisiana when he was killed after his grandmother drove her SUV out of their driveway and struck him, authorities say.
Kristen Anders, 55, has been charged with vehicular homicide in the death of her grandson, the Slidell Police Department announced on Monday. Authorities believe Anders was impaired when she killed the boy.
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It was about 7 a.m. on Monday and the 5-year-old boy was in his driveway at the residence on the 300 block of Spartan Loop in Slidell, which is located about 30 miles northeast of New Orleans. He was waiting for the bus to take him to school when “tragedy” struck.
The child was in front of his grandmother”s 2016 GMC Yukon, a large and sturdy SUV that was backed into the driveway. Police believe he may have been sitting down. Suddenly, Anders drove the vehicle forward, hitting the child, “who was killed instantly,” police said.
The woman was headed to work and “did not know that the child was outside,” authorities said, and she stopped her vehicle after she “realized she had run over something.” Still, when officers arrived at the scene, she “exhibited signs of impairment.” Investigators determined that she was “under the influence of alcohol and central nervous system suppressants.”
Slidell Police Chief Daniel Seuzeneau called the case “very tragic,” noting that not only is a child dead, but his family member is charged with the killing. He believes it’s “very safe to say” Anders did not know the boy was in front of her vehicle.
“This is any parent’s worst nightmare,” Seuzeneau said. “This greatly affects all of us. We all have kids or grandkids around this age, the first responders who were there, and to witness this … so it’s hard for all of us.”
“I spoke with the victim’s mother several times today, and there isn’t anything that I can say to make her feel any better or make this situation better. All we can do is pray for peace,” the police chief added.
After the collision, a neighbor heard screams and cries for help and called 911, local Fox affiliate WVUE reported. The child was later identified as Carson Lawson. The investigation is ongoing.
