Gardnerville boy, 4, dies in vehicle U-Haul accident

A 4-year-old Gardnerville boy, Mason Geist, died in an accident Sunday in the 900 block of Cavelti Road in the Spring Valley area south of Gardnerville, the Douglas County Sheriff Office reports.

Deputies responded at 3:45 p.m., to 980 Cavelti Road in the Spring Valley area on the report of a vehicle accident involving the injury of a 4-year-old boy, said Douglas County Undersheriff Paul Howell.

The injured child was transported to the Carson Valley Medical Center where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival, Howell said in a news release.

A preliminary investigation found that the young boy and his father were in a U-Haul truck positioning it in the driveway of the residence. The father reports he placed the vehicle in park, left the engine running, and got out of the cab to check the clearance area around the vehicle.

The driver door of the truck was left open and the boy remained in the cab of the truck. At some point the vehicle went into motion and rolled down the rough embankment of the driveway. The boy was ejected from the cab and run over by the vehicle.

The investigation into this incident continues and no further information can be released at this time, Howell said.