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Man Arrested After Fatal Hit-and-Run of 3-Year-Old Boy

Montana Highway Patrol says a vehicle was backing out of a parking space shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday when the child was struck

By Associated Press

POLSON – A 3-year-old boy riding a bicycle in a Pablo trailer park died after being backed over by a vehicle.

The Montana Highway Patrol says a vehicle was backing out of a parking space shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday when the child was struck. He died at the scene. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as Phillip Shourds Jr.

Flathead Tribal Police, Lake County Sheriff’s deputies, and Montana Highway Patrol all responded to the incident. Lake County Sheriff Don Bell says the driver fled, but was stopped by a state trooper few minutes later and arrested in Ronan.

The driver, identified as 17-year-old Chasen Curley, is in custody and has been cited by Montana Highway Patrol for negligent homicide and for failure to remain at the scene of a death or serious bodily injury, according to Bell.

The boy’s body was taken to the state crime lab in Missoula for an autopsy.

The collision remains under investigation.