'Heartbroken': 2 year old killed after wandering into road, leaving community stunned

A 2-year-old boy was struck and killed after he wandered on to a North Carolina road Saturday evening, state highway patrol confirmed.

A vehicle was traveling along Buffalo Shoals Road in Catawba County at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday when it hit the child, authorities said.

An off-duty deputy who was close-by administered aid to the toddler after he was hit, according to the Catawba County Sheriff's Office, but the boy was transported by helicopter to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte soon after, where he died from his injuries.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as a 54-year-old resident of Maiden, who will not face charges, according to authorities.

Officers continue to investigate why the child, who has not been identified by police, was alone in the road.

Neighbors share more on the incident

Police responded to a call last summer that the same child had wandered into a nearby road, authorities said. The toddler returned home before officers arrived.

Jessica Cudd, who lives next door to the family, told Channel 9 news Monday that the child ran off while his parents where unloading groceries.

“They thought he went around here so they were looking. They didn’t think he would go to the road. It’s dark,” Cudd said. “And I know they didn’t do it on purpose. They were looking for him and it’s not their fault.”

Cudd, whose son was friends with the victim, shared that it was a "freak accident," and that the boy's family had acted after the first incident by adding safety locks to the doors on the home.

Alicia Hinson, daughter of the woman who struck the boy, told Channel 9 that her mother is "heartbroken" over the incident.

"Her heart is in a million pieces,” Hinson shared. “I’ve tried to assure her that this was not her fault. And nothing that she could have done would have saved that baby.”