5-Year-Old Boy Hit, Killed By Truck in St. Croix County
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 5-year-old Wisconsin boy is dead in what investigators are calling a tragic accident.
Rodney Blodgett of Wilson, Wis. was run over by a neighbor's pick-up truck just after 7:30 o'clock Thursday night.
"He was real nice. Smart, little kid, learned to ride a two-wheeler when he was three," said Terry Thorsen, Blodgett's grandfather.
For his parents, his older brother, sisters and his grandfather, the 5-year-old who liked to jump on the trampoline and ride his bike was one of a kind.
"He was just kind of easy going. He wanted to know what you were doing. He always wanted to help you. He was picking cucumbers yesterday before this happened. We are just really sad," said Thorsen.
Thorsen said his grandson had made strides over these past few weeks. Blodgett turned five on Aug. 1, and a week ago he started swimming.
On Thursday night, however, Blodgett and other kids were playing on a neighbor's driveway and, in an instant, a fun night turned deadly.
"He slipped, slid down the hill. The kid was moving the truck. He didn't see him and ran over him," said Thorsen.
Investigators said 18-year-old Trygve Turner, a friend of Blodgett's older brother, was moving the truck closer to the garage when he ran over Blodgett.
"He was shook up, but he was cooperating at the scene," Klatt said, when asked about Turner.
First responders performed CPR on Blodgett and he was transported to the Baldwin Area Medical Center where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
What exactly happened remains under investigation, but Captain Jeff Klatt of the St. Croix County Sheriff's Department said alcohol was likely not a factor and it appears to be a tragic accident.
