Four Year Old Boy Killed

Alabama Accident Baldwin County toddler chases skateboard out into busy highway....hit and killed by a pick-up truck

by Pat Peterson

Published: Tue, March 10, 2009 - 3:53 pm CST Last Updated: Tue, March 10, 2009 - 6:12 pm CST

Melonie Wood agreed to talk to News 5 about her loss, but the young mother broke into tears before we could even turn our lights on and set up for the interview.

"He was the best little kid," says Wood. "He was real sweet, he loved to play, he loved everybody."

Melonie's four-year old son, Austin, was hit by a pick-up truck on Highway 98 Monday night in the Barnwell community. Austin's skateboard rolled out into the road, the toddler ran after it and never saw the truck. The boy died on the scene.

"Just earlier, I was chasing him around the yard and he was squirting me with a water hose and he was running circles around me," says Wood.

Family friends spent the day taking pictures and measurements of the accident scene for legal reasons...while Austin's mother stayed inside, grieving over the loss of a young boy he loved so much.

State troopers have not charged the driver of the pick-up truck. Troopers tell News 5 alcohol and speeding were NOT factors in the deadly accident.

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