A young boy was found alone along a road in Harnett County with bad injuries on Sunday.
The Harnett County Sheriff's Office said that around 2:40 p.m. Sunday, deputies arrived to Harnett Central Road near the intersection of Harold Drive to find people caring for a 4-year-old boy. They told deputies that they saw a truck driving down Harnett Central Road when they saw the child fall off the back of the truck.
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The 4-year-old was taken to WakeMed for non-life threatening injuries.
After this incident, Harnett County 911 Center received a report of a missing child.
Deputies' initial investigation revealed through surveillance video that the 4-year-old was sitting on the rear bumper and hitch of his grandfather's truck when the grandfather left his home.
Deputies said the grandfather was not aware that the child was riding on the bumper for approximately two miles before falling off.
The sheriff's office did not include any mentions of charges.
Witnesses' remarks on the incident
A woman told WRAL News her son and daughter-in-law were leaving their neighborhood when they saw the boy and called 911.
“He’s just a baby,” she said. "He shouldn’t have gone through this.”
She said the two saw the child hanging and dragging from a white Dodge truck coming up the road before they fell from the truck, as it was moving and rolled on the ground.
That is when she said her son and daughter-in-law ran over to the little boy to help.
"He had a big cut on his head and his arms and legs and knees, they were all scraped off,” Patricia Vasquez said. “His shoes were all torn where he was dragged under the car. He lost some of his teeth.”
Vasquez said she asked the boy some questions to see if he would talk with them.
“He said grandma and grandpa in Spanish,” she continued. “He was calling out for his grandma and grandpa."
According to Broadcastify emergency radio traffic, emergency responders can be heard describing the boy’s injuries.
“We have significant abrasion on the arm, the leg and the feet. We have an open head injury,” responders said.
The Harnett County Sheriff's Office said the investigation is still ongoing.