Boy, 3, struck and killed in convenience store lot

A 3-year-old boy was killed in a convenience store parking lot Wednesday night when he was struck by a truck as he darted from the family minivan at the gas pumps toward the store where his father had gone minutes earlier, police said.

Wichita police Lt. Dennis Wilson said the family had stopped at the Jump Start at 1535 E. Pawnee, near Hydraulic, at about 7 p.m. The boy’s father had pulled up to the gas pumps and walked into the store.

A short time later, his son got out of the minivan and ran toward the store. A woman driving a 4-by-4 truck pulled into the parking lot and struck the boy, Wilson said.

“From what we can tell, it appears to be a terrible accident,” Wilson said.

The child was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators will be there “for a number of hours” processing evidence, Wilson said.

Family members of the child and the woman driving the truck were still at the scene more than an hour after the boy was struck.

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 8:13 PM with the headline "Boy, 3, struck and killed in convenience store lot."