Boy, 5, ejected from bed of pickup truck in Miami Twp.

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By Angela Watson Gay, Staff Writer Updated 8:58 PM Monday, November 9, 2009

MIAMI TWP., Montgomery County — A 5-year-old boy was in stable condition at Children’s Medical Center of Dayton on Monday night, Nov. 9, after he was ejected from the bed of a pickup truck that hit a culvert near 6701 Manning Road.

Miami Twp. police Maj. John DiPietro said formal charges could be forthcoming stemming from the accident he described as simply “craziness.”

The child was riding in the bed of the pickup driven by his mother’s 21-year-old boyfriend, DiPietro said.

She was following in a different vehicle, police believe, because she and the boyfriend were in the process of moving property.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the driver of the pickup went off the right side of the road about 3:50 p.m., hit a mailbox and then a drainage culvert.

The impact “bounced” the child out of the truck, DiPietro said.

A witness told police that the child bounced in the truck bed once, then bounced a second time and hit a tree before falling to the ground.

He was conscious when emergency crews arrived, DiPietro said.

Police found empty beer cans in the back of truck, he said, and the driver tested over the legal limit.

“Why would a mother allow that to happen?” DiPietro asked. “This is why we don’t let kids ride in the back of pickup trucks. Then you’ve got the inherent danger of a kid in the back of the truck, coupled with (the driver’s) level of intoxication.”

DiPietro said various charges — including vehicular assault — could be forthcoming depending on what the investigation further reveals.

“We hope to meet with the prosecutor’s office Wednesday,” he said. “They will give us guidance” on whether charges can be filed and pursued.

The driver of the pickup was arrested on a charge of operating a vehicle intoxicated (OVI), DiPietro said.

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