Police say toddler was dropped; no charges sought

SAUGUS – The Peabody 2-year-old who died outside a Saugus church Sunday fell victim to a horrible accident, and was not struck by a vehicle, Saugus Police Lt. Leonard Campanello said Monday.?The investigation is ongoing but pending new or conflicting information, it appears to have been purely accidental in nature,” Campanello said.The child was dropped by a family member, who was standing next to a car that apparently began moving with no one inside, Campanello said, and the car “may have started to move” as a result of someone “manipulating it from the outside.”Campanello said the department would not be releasing the name of the family involved in the incident.?No vehicle struck the child. There was a minor motor vehicle accident from the vehicle rolling into another vehicle,” he said.Teddy bears and other stuffed animals had been placed Monday morning near the entrance to Family United Methodist Church on Lincoln Avenue where Saugus Police responded at 2:01 p.m. for numerous reports of an accident “involving a child and possibly involving a motor vehicle,” according to Campanello. Emergency workers responded to Lincoln Avenue at Cliftondale Square and transported the child to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 2:53 p.m.A handwritten note attached to one toy said, “With my sincere sympathys (sic). May God watch over you.”No charges will be filed in the death of the toddler, Essex District Attorney spokesperson Carrie Kimball-Monahan said Monday afternoon.?The Essex District Attorney?s Office has determined that no criminal charges are warranted in the tragic accident yesterday in Saugus,” Kimball-Monahan said in a statement.Taylor Provost can be reached at [email protected].