Officials said a Tampa Water Department employee was violating policy by using his work vehicle for personal reasons when he hit and killed a toddler.
Investigators are looking into the death of 2-year-old Demetrick Lindsey, who officials said ran between two vehicles and was struck by the water truck in the area of 1015 Lilly Court in Tampa Park Apartments on 7th Avenue and Scott Street.
The truck was moving at a slow rate of speed when the accident happened just after 8:30 p.m., officials said.
"He was like my baby," said friend Alma James. "It's just like unreal."
Police say the driver of the truck, Robert Fennell, was visibly shaken after the accident. He is cooperating in the investigation.
Investigators said the driver, a city employee, was found to be violation of city policy as he was using his vehicle for personal reasons at the time of the crash. They said he had driven his vehicle to the Tampa Park Apartments to visit family, and that he was leaving the complex when the crash occurred.
Lindsey's family was upset.
"I'm not saying it was purposely," said his aunt Jamesse Berry. "I'm not saying it was maliciously, but it could have been prevented and we shouldn't have to go through this right now. It hurts."
It's not the first time Fennell violated work policy. In 2013, he was reprimanded for meeting his girlfriend in a city vehicle during work hours.
Officials said that once the current investigation is complete, the city will take appropriate disciplinary action against him.
Meanwhile, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Child Protection Division has opened an investigation into how the toddler managed to run into a street unnoticed.
"We have a lot of kids running around, we have kids out here actively playing until around 9 o'clock," said the boy's older cousin Ali Muhammed, who added a friend of the boy's mother was watching the child when the crash happened.
The crash is being investigated as an accident and no charges have been filed.