(Image: Angelina County Jail)
A Texas father has been arrested after a devastating incident in which his 10-year-old daughter, allegedly following his instructions, accidentally ran over and killed her 6-year-old stepbrother with a pickup truck.
Clinton Earl Johnson Jr., 31, was charged with criminally negligent homicide following the tragedy that unfolded last weekend in Lufkin, Texas, according to jail records. An arrest affidavit obtained by ABC details how the heartbreaking event occurred as the family was spending time outdoors.
According to the report, Johnson and his family were grilling outside when the fatal accident happened. His 10-year-old daughter had been riding a tricycle while her younger stepbrother played on his mother’s phone.
At some point, the girl’s tricycle path was reportedly blocked by Johnson’s pickup truck. The child’s mother told police that Johnson told their daughter to move the truck forward, allegedly instructing her to “scoot it up.”
The young girl, however, became confused and mistakenly accelerated. “Got confused and got on the gas,” she later told investigators, according to the affidavit. The truck then lurched forward, smashing into the porch and fatally hitting the boy.
Deputies from the Angelina County Sheriff’s Office who arrived on the scene found wreckage from the porch, including broken boards and support poles. The 6-year-old was discovered critically injured on the ground nearby.
He was rushed to a local hospital, but despite efforts to save him, he was later pronounced dead, according to KYTX TV.
Authorities at the scene reportedly detected the smell of alcohol on both Johnson and the children’s mother. According to police, both adults later admitted to having consumed three to four alcoholic drinks each.
Johnson now faces a criminally negligent homicide charge in connection with the boy’s death. No additional charges had been announced for the mother as of Monday.
The tragedy has sparked renewed conversations about adult supervision, child safety, and responsible behavior around motor vehicles—especially when children are present.
The investigation is ongoing.
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