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08-07-03: Maria Stein toddler dies |
Osterloh struck accidentally by father driving truck
By MARGIE WUEBKER
mwuebker@dailystandard.com
MARIA STEIN - A 3-year-old Marion Township boy died Wednesday night at
a Dayton hospital of injuries sustained when he was struck by the pickup truck his father
was backing in the driveway of their home.
Tony Osterloh, the son of David and Tracey Osterloh, 1089 Kremer Road,
was struck by the truck at 5:36 p.m. as he walked on the driveway that runs between the
house and barn, according to Mercer County Sheriff's Office reports.
David Osterloh, 44, was heading to the nearby home of his parents, Ivo
and Barb Osterloh, to help with the evening milking. He stopped abruptly while preparing
to pull out of the driveway.
"He backed up to tell Tracey something," Barb Osterloh told
The Daily Standard this morning. "He never saw Tony on the driveway. Kids can move so
fast."
The grandparents received a cell phone call from their son notifying
them of the accident. They rushed to the scene.
"Tony responded when someone called his name," Barb Osterloh
said in a voice choked with emotion. "He even responded when Tracey told him the
helicopter had arrived. She never left his side until the crew prepared to leave."
Osgood Life Squad members requested CareFlight respond directly to the
scene with the Osgood Fire Department marking the landing zone. It arrived at 6 p.m. and
took off 18 minutes later en route to Children's Medical Center. The little boy's
condition reportedly deteriorated as the craft approached Dayton.
"Doctors and nurses worked over him for 40 minutes," Barb
Osterloh said. "They tried so hard to bring him back."
While the parents headed to the hospital, sheriff's deputies located
the boy's sisters at the Mercer County Banner Fair. Sixteen-year-old Joanna, a member of
the Marion Local High School Band, was taking part in the 7 p.m. marching band competition
while 11-year-old Rose was at the cattle barn caring for her Holstein calves.
Fifteen-year-old Ben was home at the time of the accident.
"Tony was such a cheerful and outgoing little boy," the
grandmother recalls. "He loved playing with his 5-year-old brother, Bobby. Oh my,
they certainly liked trucks and tractors."
He particularly loved Buzz Lightyear, a popular "Toy Story"
character. He often held the doll clad in astronaut fashion aloft, recreating scenes from
the movie where the helmeted figure flew around the set proclaiming "to infinity and
beyond."
Pictures taken recently show the blue-eyed boy proudly wearing a
colorful Bob the Builder shorts outfit Johanna sewed as a 4-H project. The outfit, along
with a matching one from brother Bobby, took blue ribbons in prefair judging.
Funeral arrangements are pending the completion of an autopsy scheduled
for today at the Montgomery County Coroner's Office in Dayton. |
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