A young boy playing in an abandoned vehicle died Friday afternoon when it rolled and he became pinned between the vehicle's door and a pole in a carport. The incident was reported at 1:30 p.m. when a neighbor discovered the boy, his body halfway out the door of the abandoned van, as the Chronicle reports. He may have been there for an hour or more before he was found.
The boy, identified as Assad Gibson, was known like many children in the neighborhood to play in various abandoned vehicles. The van in question was reportedly towed to the carport of the apartment complex where Gibson lived after being damaged in an accident.
Neighbors were surprised the boy was playing alone, since children in the area usually are found in groups.
Gibson's grandmother, Aminah Ali, told the Chron she believed the boy may have accidentally shifted the van into neutral, causing it to roll. "All vandalized cars should not be here,” she said.