Coroner IDs Toddler Killed in Carpentersville Crash

CARPENTERSVILLE, IL - Residents living in a Carpentersville subdivision where a toddler was struck and killed say the 2-year-old boy's mother, who is eight months pregnant, was dropping the boy off at his grandma's house when a pickup truck hit the child, according to media reports. The Kane County Coroner's Office has identified the boy as Levi Cruz of Carpentersville. There was no driver in the truck when it rolled down the street and hit the young boy, ABC 7 Chicago reports.

The collision occurred at about 9:43 a.m. in the 1000 block of Deer Creek Drive in Carpentersville on Monday, police said. Emergency personnel arriving first at the scene of the crash immediately began to administer first aid to the young victim, according to a news release from the Carpentersville Police Department.

The boy was taken to Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin where he was pronounced dead a short time later, Kane County Coroner Rob Russell said in a news release. The preliminary cause of death is multiple injuries due to an auto striking a pedestrian.

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After striking the toddler, the gray Ram pickup truck drove off the road and ended up in a wetland retention area, according to the Northwest Herald.

Neighbor Vincente Mendez told the Northwest Herald he called police after hearing the crash and witnessing the truck go into the retention pond. He then headed to the scene of the crash where he saw the victim lying in the grass and the mother and grandmother who were inconsolable.

The collision is being investigated by the Carpentersville Police Department, the Kane County Accident Reconstruction Team and the Kane County Coroner’s Office.

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