Essex toddler killed in KC traffic

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It is not known how a two-year-old from Essex exited a Kansas City, Mo. motel room in the early morning hours of Sunday. The child was killed around 2:30 a.m. along a stretch Blue Parkway, which is a four-lane divided highway in the city.

J'Vierre Durden, whose parents' names were not released at press time Tuesday, was struck and killed by an unknown motorist in an area located nearly one-half mile from the Crown Lodge Motel where he, along with his parents and two older siblings, had been staying the weekend. Police say, however, that the parents of the children were gone visiting relatives in the area Saturday night and had left the 13 and 10-year-olds in charge of watching their little brother.

According to a report from Fox News in Kansas City, the hotel room in which the family was staying is equipped with both a dead bolt and chain lock mechanisms, either of which, according to Motel Manager Grover Clausen, could be released by a "resourceful toddler."

According to Kansas City Police, a female driver spotted the child running eastbound in the westbound lanes of Blue Parkway traffic. She immediately turned back to rescue the little boy. By the time she returned to the scene, however, he had been struck by an oncoming vehicle.

The vehicle did not stop, and Kansas City police surmise the driver may have "sideswiped" the child, never realizing what had occurred. Kansas City police are asking for help with the investigation into the accident.

According to Clawsen, the child would not have had to encounter any fences in order to reach the area where he was struck. The investigation by Kansas City Police continues.