Driver of truck that killed boy had left engine running, brake off, police charge

An Angier man, whom Hillsborough police charged after a dump truck rolled down a hill and killed a 5-year-old boy Monday, had left the engine running and “left it unattended without ... effectively setting the parking brake,” an arrest warrant shows.

Alejandro Suarez, 28, of Spider Lily Lane in Angier, was the truck driver Monday when a crew was working in the area above the house where Everett Copeland lived with his parents, a twin sister and a younger sister, police said.

Police charged Suarez with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, and an Orange County magistrate set his bail at $10,000. The magistrate noted that Suarez had no identification with him when he was arrested, and there was “no way to positively ID him.”

Suarez was scheduled for a Wednesday court appearance.

The truck was on Clarkson Ridge Lane when it began to roll and went downhill toward Dogwood Bloom Lane and into the Copelands’ driveway, hitting Everett and smashing into the house.

Everett was rushed to Duke University Hospital in Durham, but died there.

A GoFundMe page called “Love for Everett Copeland” and set up to help his parents with funeral and other expenses had a $10,000 goal and had raised $10,942 by Tuesday evening.

This story was originally published December 28, 2016 at 11:40 AM with the headline "Driver of truck that killed boy had left engine running, brake off, police charge."