A five-year-old boy was killed after being hit by a car in Fort Mitchell, Alabama on Sunday evening.
The child, Austin Birdseye, was a passenger in a vehicle being driven by his mother’s boyfriend, Bryan Starr, who allegedly put him out of the car for “being unruly.”
Birdseye then wandered onto Highway 165, where he was struck by a different car. He later died from his injuries at Piedmont Columbus Regional medical center.
“It was raining at the time, and it was, obviously, at 8 o’clock at night, dark,” Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor told KMOV4.
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“He has no idea where he is or how to get home,” he said. “Who thinks to tell a five-year-old to get out of a car because they’re being potentially loud?”
Starr, 35, an active-duty soldier at Fort Benning, told authorities that he lost sight of the boy on the road until he saw cars stopped after the accident.
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Fort officials said it is cooperating with law enforcement officials in the area.
“Sgt. 1st Class Bryan Starr turned himself into the Russell County, Alabama, sheriff’s office regarding the tragic death of a 5-year-old boy in his care,” the statement read.
“Starr, 35, from Marengo, Illinois, is assigned to 3rd Squadron, 16th Cavalry Regiment, 316th Cavalry Brigade, has 17 years of service. His previous assignments include the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Knox, Kentucky; and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He has one combat deployment to Iraq.”
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“We are deeply saddened by this tragic event,” it continued, “and extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased.”
Starr has been charged with reckless murder, claims that allege he created a significant risk of death when he put the boy out of the car.
In the state of Alabama, a conviction of reckless murder is punishable by up to 99 years or life imprisonment.
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