Lady’s Island baby killed in tractor incident

A 13-month-old girl died after a tractor incident at a Sheppard Road home on Lady’s Island around 5 p.m. Saturday.

The girl was pronounced dead shortly before 5:30 p.m. as EMS was transporting her to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, Beaufort County Deputy Coroner David Ott said Sunday afternoon. An autopsy performed Sunday morning at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston showed the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head.

The baby’s 5-year-old brother was allegedly operating a tractor in the home’s backyard at the time with his father in the yard, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Bob Bromage confirmed Sunday afternoon. It was reported that the boy put the machine in reverse without realizing his mother and the baby had returned home and were walking through the yard. The machine ran over the baby girl.

The investigation is still active, and no charges have been filed or are pending at this time, Bromage said.

This story was originally published September 17, 2017 at 5:52 PM with the headline "Lady’s Island baby killed in tractor incident."