A fatal pedestrian accident in Franklin Township, New Jersey involving a police cruiser and a young boy occurred Sunday night. The boy was on his way to a sleepover with two friends along with two adult supervisors. As they were about to cross Delsea Drive the adults saw a fast approaching vehicle and called for the boy to come back, but the boy was already in the street and a Franklin Township police car struck him. According to witnesses the police car did not have its lights or siren activated.

Although the police officer's lights and siren were not on, Franklin Township released a statement that the officer was in fact responding to an urgent call. The nature of the call is being investigated and as a part of the investigation the police department's policies on the use of lights and sirens is being looked at.

The officer was taken to the hospital to take a blood sample, which is normal procedure for a driver of a car involved in a fatal accident. The Gloucester County Detectives Chief said, "The matter is currently under investigation. We'll release more details as we receive them. And we would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family of that child." The officer is very shaken up from the accident according to the Township administrators.

Even police officers can be at fault for accidents. If an officer is responding to a call they are responsible to follow the rules and policies of their department to ensure the safety of others. If you or someone you know has been involved in a pedestrian accident due to someone else's negligence contact the pedestrian accident attorneys at Dallas W. Hartman, P.C. at 800-777-4081 for a free consultation today.

Source: WPVI. "Family Identifies Child Fatally Struck By Police Cruiser In Franklin TWP". 29 December 2014.