PELLA, Iowa — A 5-year-old child was killed on Thursday after she was struck by a truck as she sledded onto an Iowa street, authorities said.
The child was hit at about 5:26 p.m. CST in Pella by a Ford F-150 truck, the Des Moines Register reported.
According to a news release from the Pella Police Department, the child had been sledding on a nearby hill. The victim was taken to an area hospital, where they were pronounced dead, police said.
The incident happened after a snowstorm in central Iowa on Thursday. https://t.co/PRJNG7ZsWl
— Des Moines Register (@DMRegister) February 18, 2023
“The thoughts and prayers for the family of this child, for the friends and so many other people in the community that are affected by this,” Pella police Capt. Paul Haase told WOI-TV. “It’s just a really tragic event.”
According to Pella Community School District Superintendent Greg Ebeling, the child was a student at Lincoln Elementary School.
“The reality is that these things change people,” Ebeling told WOI. “They just do because there’s things that you don’t completely heal from. But we have to do the best to support each other, to heal as best we can.”
The Pella Police Department and the Iowa State Patrol are investigating, the news release stated.