Boy, 9, killed after being struck by pickup in south Fort Worth parking lot

With third grade behind him, 9-year-old Orlando Hernandez was looking forward to kicking off his summer playing in a Plano soccer tournament this weekend.

An avid soccer player who played forward, Orlando had missed practice Monday but was eager to run laps at Rosemont Park to make up for it after going grocery shopping with his family.

“We were going to go take him to make three laps at the park since he didn’t go to practice because we wanted him to get in good condition for the tournament,” said his mother, Daniela Hernandez.

But a quick stop at CVS at 700 W. Seminary Dr. on Monday evening ended in tragedy.

As his parents and two sisters, ages 11 and 4, waited in the car, Orlando was running the shopping cart back to the store when he was struck by a Nissan pickup.

Orlando was taken to Cook Children’s Medical Center where he was pronounced dead from his injuries at 8:55 p.m.

Sgt. Cynthia Blake, supervisor of the traffic investigation unit, said the boy was not looking when he dashed in front of the pickup, which had just turned into the parking lot from Seminary. She said the pickup driver had no time to react and said the boy’s death appears to be a “tragic accident.”

Officer Tamara Pena, a police spokeswoman, said video footage captured by the store’s surveillance cameras also indicated that the collision was an accident.

But Hernandez said she believes the driver was traveling too fast in the parking lot and that criminal charges should be pursued.

“He said he was driving 10 miles an hour. He was going faster,” Hernandez said Tuesday, seated in her living room and surrounded by several family members who had flocked to the house to offer their support to the grieving family.

“My husband even honked for him to stop and he didn’t react,” Hernandez said. “He honked like five times prior to him hitting my son.”

Hernandez said while the driver did stop after the collision and told her family that he was sorry, “sorry isn’t going to bring my son back.”

Blake said detectives will consult with the Tarrant County district attorney’s office on the case.

Inside the family’s home, Orlando’s many soccer trophies crowded a small living room table along with two pairs of soccer shoes.

Hernandez said her son, who would have started fourth grade at Rosemont Park Elementary in the fall, was active and outgoing.

“He wasn’t shy,” Hernandez said. “He just loved playing soccer. That’s what he loved to do all the time.”

This story was originally published June 9, 2015 at 9:37 AM with the headline "Boy, 9, killed after being struck by pickup in south Fort Worth parking lot."