4-year-old child struck by vehicle, killed while trick-or-treating on Northeast Side

A 4-year-old died while trick-or-treating Monday night after being struck by a pickup truck while walking in a crosswalk on the city's Northeast Side.

Columbus police said around 6:55 p.m., the 4-year-old, who was not identified in a press release, was walking with a woman in her 30s, who was also not identified, in a crosswalk on Westerville Road at Valley Park Avenue, approximately half a mile north of Morse Road.

Jack-O-Lantern disposal:5 things to do with carved pumpkins instead of throwing them away

Police said the woman and child were both in costume and were walking west across Westerville Road. They were in the crosswalk and the crosswalk's flashing lights were illuminated at the time.

A Ford F-150 pickup truck was headed south on Westerville Road, and the driver, a 49-year-old man whom police did not identify, struck the woman and child in the crosswalk.

The driver stayed at the scene of the crash and cooperated with police. No charges had been filed as of Tuesday and the investigation was ongoing, police said.

The child was taken to Nationwide Children's Hospital in critical condition, where the child died at 9:30 p.m. The woman was taken to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital in critical condition. No update on her condition was available Tuesday.

National studies have shown that Halloween increases the risk of a child being struck by a vehicle anywhere from four to eight times, according to USA Today's reporting.

A crash report was not available on Tuesday morning.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner