Child Wanders from Orlando Hotel, is Struck and Killed by Passing Van

Due to events that the Florida Highway Patrol is still attempting to unravel, a 4-year-old boy with special needs was hit by a van at 2:00 on Friday morning after he apparently made his way into the street from the hotel where he and his parents were staying. The statement filed by Sgt. Kim Montes states that the boy, named Kiyan Tomlin, was visiting Florida with his parents. Traveling from Brooklyn, New York, the family was staying at the Extended Stay America Hotel in Orlando. The hotel is located near John Young Parkway and Sand Lake Road, which is where the accident that resulted in the young boy being killed took place.

Sgt. Montes, speaking on behalf of the Florida Highway Patrol, has stated that, as far as they have been able to reconstruct events, the accident took place after Kiyan Tomlin was able to sneak out of the hotel room where both his parents lay sleeping. According to the parents, the three of them locked the door and used the added security latch for extra protection before they went to bed around 11:00 at night. Kiyan was with them at this time.

However, it seems as though at some point during the night, Kiyan woke up, pulled a chair over to the door, unlocked it, and wandered through and out of the hotel. Wearing only a T-shirt and shoes, Kiyan left the hotel and began to walk across John Young Parkway. An unnamed 56-year-old man from Orlando was driving his Ford van down John Young Parkway at exactly this time. It is believed that, due to the darkness and the usual absence of children on the Parkway at this time of night, the driver of the Ford did not notice the young boy until after the accident.

The driver of the van pulled his vehicle off to the side of the road and attempted to help the badly injured boy, but there was nothing that he could do to save the child. The troopers who arrived declared Kiyan Tomlin dead at the scene of the accident.

As of this writing, no charges have been filed against the driver of the Ford van.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.