Mother files lawsuit in July death of son who fell off moving vehicle

The mother of an 11-year-old boy who died in July after falling from a moving vehicle is blaming the driver for her son’s death in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

Chastity Johnson, 38, filed the suit on the behalf of her son, Pierre McLoyd, in Cook County Circuit Court.

About 10 p.m. July 2, McLoyd and other children were playing on the trunk of a parked vehicle in the 4100 block of Russet Way in south suburban Country Club Hills during a family party, authorities said at the time.

The person planning to drive the vehicle approached and told the kids to get off, police said at the time. All except McLoyd left, and the driver pulled away, police said.

A witness told officers the boy fell and hit his head on the pavement several yards from the parking spot.

McLoyd, of the 4300 block of 190th Place in Country Club Hills, was taken to Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn, where he died four days later, the medical examiner’s office said.

Police at the time said it was an accident and there was no intent to harm McLoyd. The driver was not charged or cited.

But Johnson claims in the suit that the man driving the vehicle was careless, failed to keep a lookout and didn’t sound his horn, making him responsible for her son’s death.

Besides his mother, McLoyd is survived by his father and two half-siblings, the suit said.

The man named in the suit could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

The suit claims wrongful death and that the driver was responsible for McLoyd’s injuries. Johnson is asking for at least $100,000 in damages.