This story is as heartbreaking as it is perplexing.
North Carolina parents, Jessica Ivey and Samuele Jenkins, got the devastating news that their 7-year-old son Legend Jenkins was hit by a Jeep Cherokee driven by a 76-year-old woman and killed.
Legend and his 10-year-old brother asked their mother if they could meet their father at the grocery store that was only two blocks away, and she had let them go unaccompanied.
Jenkins said he was on the phone with his elder son when the younger child was hit.
‘I heard my oldest son yell, "Legend, no!" so I hung up and ran. I just ran to find them.'
Ivey said it was the first time she had let the children walk alone:
‘It was just devastating, I'm still in shock, I'm in shock,' she said. ‘It's hard, I haven't stopped crying; my husband hasn't stopped crying. Honestly, I want justice for my baby.'
Two days after the loss of their son, Gastonia police arrested the parents.
Yes, the parents.
The charges?
Felony child neglect and manslaughter.
‘While the Gastonia Police Department offers its deepest sympathies to the family for the heartbreaking loss of their child, the 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 police department said in a press release.
The driver was cleared of all wrong doing — as it was an accident.
At this time, there is no evidence of speeding or wrongdoing on the part of the driver, therefore no charges have been filed.
However, the parents are being held on a $1.5 million bond, not for having any part in the accident, but for having the audacity of giving their children the autonomy to walk two blocks to the grocery store.
Two blocks!
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
