Mom’s car kills child in driveway

David Kihara

Thursday, April 7, 2005 | 10:54 a.m.

A boy just two weeks shy of his second birthday was killed on Wednesday in Henderson after his mother's car rolled over him in the family's driveway, marking the second such incident in a week.

Nicole Thrasher, 26, had just returned from the grocery store with her two children at 4:15 p.m.

Robert Bodie Thrasher, 23 months, got out of the vehicle and his mother told him to wait in the grass next to the driveway of their home on the 500 block of Startop Street while she took his infant sibling out of the car seat, Henderson Police spokesman Todd Rasmussen said.

But Robert went behind the vehicle just as it began rolling backwards. Thrasher tried to stop the vehicle but she couldn't, and it rolled over the little boy, killing him. Rasmussen said.

The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

"This is a very tragic incident," Rasmussen said.

The Henderson police were investigating whether Thrasher had placed the parking brake on the vehicle when she parked it or if the vehicle slipped out of gear, he said.

The police impounded the Jeep and will examine it to see if a vehicle malfunction caused it to roll.

Although the Henderson police are continuing their investigation, they are treating the incident as an accident, Rasmussen said. It is unlikely that Thrasher will face any charges.

"When the boy got out of the car, the mother told him to wait on the grass (lawn)," he said, adding that she was so distraught that officers had difficulty interviewing her.

Residents of the area expressed disbelief at the accident, saying that the neighborhood -- located off Siena Heights Drive near Eastern Avenue -- is generally quiet. Children are often on the streets playing and vehicles usually drive slowly because many of the streets lead to cul-de-sacs.

Neighbors also said that Thrasher and her husband, Robert, are friendly, attentive parents.

Thrasher's next-door neighbor, Christine Britton, described Thrasher as a concerned mother who spent her days at home caring for her children.

Another neighbor, who identified himself only as Mike, and lives in the adjacent cul-de-sac, said he met the Thrasher's last Saturday after his dog, a Rottweiler, ran from his yard and into the Thrasher's.

Mike said the couple kept the dog in their yard until he arrived to take the dog home.

"You have to be a pretty nice person to keep a Rottweiler in your yard while the owner comes and gets it," he said. "This is a horrible tragedy."

The death of the Thrasher's boy follows a similar incident on April 1, in which 23-year-old Darcy Wykoff accidentally ran over her 2-year-old daughter while backing out of a parking space.

Wykoff reportedly believed the toddler was inside the family's apartment and was not aware the girl was behind her minivan.