The initial investigation led Highway Patrol troopers to believe the death was accidental. The boy, George B. Little, was the son of Wes and Teresa Little of South-ern Pines.
The accident oc-curred about 8:30 a.m. The boy was at his babysitter’s house on Union Church Road about two miles west of Vass.
The babysitter, Lawana Jones, 51, was backing up the car to get ready to leave the house with the child, according to Trooper W.R. Ellington, the investigating officer. The boy was inside the house with Jones’ two grown daughters.
At some point, when she was backing the car, Ellington said, the child left the house and walked into the path of the vehicle, which struck him.
Rescue workers were called to the scene, and they transported the young boy to FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, from which he was to be airlifted to a hospital in Charlotte. He died before he could be airlifted.
The investigation into the incident continues.
The family scheduled the funeral service for 11 a.m. today at Brown-son Memorial Presbyterian Church, with burial in Bethesda Cemetery.
The boy is survived by his parents; his sister, Tori E. Little; and his paternal grandparents, George and Teena Little; and his maternal great-grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Scott of Mount Airy.
The family asked that memorials go to the UNC Children’s Hospital, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27516, the Southern Pines Volunteer Fire and Rescue, P.O. Box 2466, Southern Pines, N.C. 28388, or to the Sandhills Children’s Center, 1280 Central Drive, Southern Pines, N.C. 28387.
The boy’s father is a an enforcement officer with the state Division of Motor Vehicles and a volunteer firefighter with the Southern Pines Fire Department.
The Little family is well known throughout Moore County. News of the boy’s death spread quickly and has caused grief and shock throughout the law-enforcement community and among legislators in Raleigh.
John Dempsey, president of Sandhills Community College, of which George Little is the chairman of the board, said the college will be doing something to reach out to the Little family in its time of need. But, he said, it is too soon for anything to be organized.
“We’re still in a state of shock,” he said.
Dempsey said he is close to the entire Little family.
“I know the whole family very well. I know them and love them,” he said. “It’s just one of those things you almost can’t talk about. It’s incomprehensible. … Certainly we’ll do something.”
Chief Rick Baker of the Southern Pines Fire Department said Wes Little has been a driver for the Fire Department for 17 years. Baker and a few other firefighters were at the hospital when the Littles arrived. Baker pledged to help the Little family with anything they might need.
“He’s part of our membership, so our support system is always there,” Baker said.
“Sympathy going out to the whole family,” Moore County Sheriff Lane Carter said. “People just don’t imagine having to go through that. It’s a tough, tough thing. ... If they need us, we’re here for them.”
George Little thanked everyone who has given support.
“Wes and Teresa appreciate the support,” he said. “I appreciate the outpouring, not only here, but throughout the state.”
Little called the support the family received “tremendous” and said it has been a great help in this emotional time.
“He was a great little boy,” he said. “It’s just a tragic accident.”
