Boy fell from parade trailer, run over by father

MOUNT JULIET, Tenn. - A boy who died during a Christmas parade in Tennessee fell out of a trailer just before he was run over by a truck his father was driving, according to a Tennessee Highway Patrol report released Monday.

The child, identified as 7-year-old Rowan Ace Frensley, was hit at the end of the parade on Saturday by a Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by Art Frensley. The truck was driving at low speeds while preparing to unload passengers from a trailer it was towing through the Mount Juliet Middle School parking lot, the agency's crash report documented.

Several officers responded to the scene and an ambulance had to be escorted through heavy traffic during the parade’s ending, a police statement said. Rowan was taken to a hospital where he later died, Highway Patrol said.

Mount Juliet minister Eric Moreno told The Tennessean that about 20 kids were on the trailer at the time. He said parents nearby immediately escorted them away from the scene and to a field.

Hundreds of community members gathered at a vigil Sunday night in the parking lot where the accident happened.

Rowan was remembered as a kind, happy child. “This kid had the biggest heart,“ Tammie Brittain said. “His smile could light up a room.”