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EAST LIVERPOOL -- A Liverpool Township toddler succumbed Sunday from injuries received Friday when he was run over by a vehicle in his driveway, and police are investigating the incident.
Township Police Chief Jayson Jackson confirmed Monday that an investigation is underway in regard to the death of 17-month-old Armani J. Slappy, Broadview Circle, who died at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh where he had been taken Friday by ground ambulance after initial treatment at East Liverpool City Hospital.
Jackson said Monday afternoon that, while the Allegheny County, Pa., coroner has ruled the child's death accidental as the result of blunt force trauma, "We're still investigating on this end."
The toddler was injured between 3:30 and 4 p.m. Friday when a man was backing out the driveway and ran over him. The man was not identified Monday by Jackson, who said he is the ex-boyfriend of the boy's mother and had stopped in to drop off some belongings.
It was not immediately clear whether the child ran behind the vehicle as it was moving or if he was already behind the vehicle and could not be seen when it began to move.
"Right now, it looks like a horrific accident," Jackson said, adding, "When we're through with our investigation, we will confer with the prosecutor with what we have."
Hampering the investigation somewhat, he said, is the fact that his department was not called when the incident occurred.
No ambulance company was called, which most likely would have generated a call to the police department, according to Jackson.
"The mother grabbed the baby, they got into a vehicle and went straight to the hospital," Jackson said, saying they were concerned there would be a lengthy wait for an ambulance.
Hospital staff also did not notify his department of the baby's injuries, and Jackson said it wasn't until someone saw a social media post about the child at about 10:30 p.m. and notified him that officers responded to the emergency room, delaying any attempt to speak that night with the adults involved.
The man driving the car was interviewed Saturday by Detective Jared Kinemond as part of the ongoing investigation, and Jackson said he still needs to speak with the child's mother, as well as another person present at the time of the incident.
Meanwhile, the community has rallied behind the child's family, with a candlelight vigil planned for 8:30 p.m. today at Patterson Field and a variety of fundraisers being planned to help defray expenses.
jgilbert@mojonews.com