{"id":332755,"date":"2026-07-08T07:23:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/332755\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T07:23:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:23:08","slug":"toddler-fatally-struck-while-mother-backed-out-in-west-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/332755\/","title":{"rendered":"Toddler fatally struck while mother backed out in West Park"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1-year-old hit, Wilson Matias Jr..jpeg\"   width=\"1200\" height=\"674\" title=\"The Broward Sheriff\u2019s Office identified the 1-year-old boy hit Monday afternoon as Wilson Matias Jr.\" alt=\"The Broward Sheriff\u2019s Office identified the 1-year-old boy hit Monday afternoon as Wilson Matias Jr.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        The Broward Sheriff\u2019s Office identified the 1-year-old boy hit Monday afternoon as Wilson Matias Jr.<\/p>\n<p>            GoFundMe<\/p>\n<p>A 1-year-old boy was fatally struck by a vehicle driven by his mother as she backed out of the driveway of their West Park home, authorities say.<\/p>\n<p>The Broward Sheriff\u2019s Office identified the boy hit on Monday afternoon as 1-year-old Wilson Matias Jr.<\/p>\n<p>Officials say he ran out of his home in West Park as his mother, Ericka Cante Hernandez, 33, was backing a 2024 Chevrolet Suburban out of their driveway. She hit him, and he died after being transported to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/local\/community\/broward\/article316403121.html\">READ MORE: Two-year-old boy dies after he was struck by a vehicle in Broward, deputies say<\/a><\/p>\n<p>While an investigation is underway, BSO spokesperson Carey Codd said Hernandez currently faces no charges, adding the incident appeared to be unintentional, and no foul play was suspected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt appears to be a tragic, tragic accident,\u201d Codd said.<\/p>\n<p>According to dealership <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.orrchevroletcadillac.com\/blogs\/3590\/2024-chevy-suburban-safety-features-fort-smith-ar?srsltid=AfmBOopWmnM0D6NQ8ADV17D0vIg09qYu-ShZwM6LCDbHm3aEQ-jYa9MK\">websites<\/a> and the manufacturer, 2024 Chevrolet Suburbans are all equipped with collision sensors, including ones that are in the rear and are meant to alert the drivers if objects, including pedestrians, are present. The vehicles are also equipped with backup cameras.<\/p>\n<p>Codd could not confirm if his agency interviewed anyone else in the home. It\u2019s also unclear how the child got out of the home.<\/p>\n<p>Officials did not confirm how they determine an incident is accidental or a result of negligence.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kidsandcars.org\/document_center\/download\/backovers\/Backover-fact-sheet-FINAL.pdf\">Kids and Car Safety,<\/a> at least 50 children are backed over in the U.S. every week \u2014 with two of them killed.<\/p>\n<p>The family has posted a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/ayuda-para-funeral-y-memorial-de-nuestro-angelito?attribution_id=sl:a800cc74-257e-456a-b0a5-cb6e6b691dd4&amp;lang=en_US&amp;ts=1783366851&amp;utm_campaign=man_sharesheet_dash&amp;utm_content=amp20_t1&amp;utm_medium=customer&amp;utm_source=instagram_story\">GoFundMe<\/a> page for funeral expenses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo family is ever prepared for such a profound loss,\u201d the page reads.<\/p>\n<p class=\"summary gray\">This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 2:58 PM.<\/p>\n<p>                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/profile\/315974182\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Lowery_headshot.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" alt=\"Profile Image of Kairi Lowery\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n                    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>                <a class=\"author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/profile\/315974182\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kairi Lowery<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                    Miami Herald<\/p>\n<p>            Kairi Lowery is a 2026 journalism graduate of the University of Florida and currently a breaking news intern at the Miami Herald. Previously, she worked as a political reporting intern for the Orlando Sentinel.\u00a0\n            <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Broward Sheriff\u2019s Office identified the 1-year-old boy hit Monday afternoon as Wilson Matias Jr. GoFundMe A 1-year-old&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332756,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-332755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}