Girl, 3, Struck And Killed By Truck In Roseland
UPDATED 08/25/12 4:56 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Makayla Dameron was just 3 years old, taking a walk with her mother on a late Saturday morning, when a delivery truck cut her life tragically short.
As CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports, police are still investigating the accident that killed Makayla around 11:25 a.m. Saturday at 103rd and State streets in the Roseland neighborhoods. But it does not look any charges will be filed in the case, which appears to be simply a tragic accident.
Hours afterward, one of the little girl's sparkled shoes sat alone in the street, wreathed in police tape. Off to the side, Makayla's aunt, Dabrielle Dixon, was crying and looking on helplessly at the spot where her niece took her last breath.
"She played all day. She's full of smiles," Dixon said. "That's my angel."
Makayla was attempting to cross State Street with her mother and brother when the delivery truck struck and killed her. Witnesses say she broke free from her mother and ran under the truck's back wheels.
A man who did not want to reveal his identity told CBS 2 he tried to help, as Makayla's mom became hysterical after watching her daughter get run over.
"I told her, 'Don't pick her up. Don't move her,'" the man said. "But she was already dead. She was crushed."
Juanita Strong heard the screams and ran outside to try and help. But she soon realized nothing could be done for the little girl known in the neighborhood as KK.
"It's heartbreaking, to see a poor child mangled in the streets," Strong said. "It's not pleasant."
The driver of the truck and his passenger stopped immediately, and they were inconsolable.
"He said, 'I didn't see her.' He didn't see her," said the man who tried to help. "He just knew he hit something and he got out."
Makayla was rushed to the hospital. But police say that was just a formality, because the child was already gone when first responders arrived at the scene
.
At that scene hours later, Dixon stood and stared in disbelief, knowing that her sister's first child wouldn't be coming home again.
"She was a good kid. She was full of smiles," Dixon said between sobs. "I don't know what to say."
One neighbor told CBS 2 she hopes KK's death will serve as a warning to other children and parents in the neighborhood about the danger of crossing busy streets.
