OTTUMWA – An 8-year-old Iowa boy tragically lost his life when a pickup truck backed over him in an alley.
According to the Iowa State Patrol, the incident took place on July 2, 2024. At about 12:25 PM that day, in an alley in Ottumwa, Iowa, a 2008 Dodge Ram pickup truck was stopped at Dewey Street. It was then traveling south in an alley parallel to and east of Hancock Street. The driver, 37-year-old Eric Timothy Pilcher of Ottumwa, was leaving a residence and had forgotten an item while stopped, the Patrol described. At this time, 8-year-old Jaxxon Carver Cain of Ottumwa rode his bike up to the rear bumper of the pickup truck, completely out of sight of the driver. The pickup then began to back up in the alley and the child was unable to avoid the pickup and was struck and killed.