5-year-old boy struck by vehicle

<p dir="ltr"><span>ELLIS GROVE -- A 5-year-old boy was struck by a vehicle at Gross's Peach Farm in the 6900 block of State Route 3 north of Dew Drop Road on Tuesday morning.</span>

<p dir="ltr"><span>Chief Deputy Jarrod Peters of the Randolph County Sheriff's Office told the Herald Tribune that the child - whose name was not released - was in stable condition and was transported to Red Bud Regional Hospital by MedStar Ambulance to be evaluated as a precautionary measure.</span>

<p dir="ltr"><span>Peters said the vehicle involved, a red 2004 Ford F-150, had rolled forward, broke one of the support posts of a peach stand and struck a bench the boy was sitting on.</span>

<p dir="ltr"><span>The boy was at the farm with his father and both are from O'Fallon. Peters noted in a later crash report that the driver - 68-year-old Thomas E. Walls of Ellis Grove - forgot to put his vehicle in park.</span>

<p dir="ltr"><span>"There will be no citations, it was totally accidental," he said.</span>

<p dir="ltr"><span>In addition to the RCSO and MedStar, the Evansville Fire Department and law enforcement from Red Bud and Prairie du Rocher also responded to the scene on a 911 page.</span>

<p dir="ltr"><span>The incident was reported at 10:18 a.m.</span>