RCMP are investigating after a six-year-old boy was struck and killed by a car in northeastern Manitoba.
Officers were called to the nursing station at Shamattawa on Friday, where they learned a group of children had been playing in a parking lot when the boy was hit by a vehicle as it was backing up.
He was rushed to the nursing station, where he died of his injuries.
Sgt. Paul Manaigre told 680 CJOB the tragedy happened because the boy didn’t know which way the vehicle was going to go.
“Kids in that area were what we used to call ‘bumper shining’ — you’re riding the back of the bumper sliding on the snow as the vehicle’s moving forward,” Manaigre said.
“But in this case, the vehicle reversed and struck the child.”
“It’s not something I understood occurred much anymore. If this is occurring in some of our northern communities, it’s a practice that needs to stop. This is the result of a tragedy with a child not knowing what this vehicle was going to do.”