The Eupora community is mourning the tragic death of a toddler who crawled behind a vehicle and was fatally injured when the driver accidentally backed over him.
Police Chief Gregg Hunter said the accident occurred about 2 p.m. July 1 in front of a home at 76 Posey St., which is on the north side of Adams Avenue. The child was identified as 14-month-old Major J’Don Barr.
Hunter said the child had been in the house when somehow he got outside and crawled into the edge of the gravel street behind a 2017 Hyundai Sonata parked in front.
Major was out of the sight of the driver, he said, who accidentally backed over the child as he was leaving. A family member took Major to North Mississippi Medical Center-Eupora, where he died.
“It was a horrible accident,” Hunter said.
Several family members were at the residence and the driver was a family friend, according to Hunter, who said an autopsy was performed.
No charges have been filed, and Hunter said the investigation was ongoing as of last week by the Eupora Police Department and Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family,” he said on behalf of the EPD.
A candlelight vigil/balloon release in remembrance of Major was held the evening of July 2 at Whites Creek Lake Park.
Funeral services were Friday afternoon at Chester Baptist Church with burial in the church cemetery under the direction of Wise-Reed Funeral Home. Survivors include Major’s parents, Jasmyne Breann Thomas and Twaskie DonJ Barr, and a brother, Maverick Marcell Barr.
