CHALMETTE, La. — Claudine Swatt is grieving the loss of her six-year-old son after a car hit him on Monday morning.
“Earth has lost a rare treasure,” Claudine Swatt said.
Deaunta White was getting ready to go to school on Monday, just one day after his sixth birthday.
She says he went outside to get something out of their car, and that’s when her whole world changed.
“She hit him hard,” Swatt said. “She hit him really hard."
She found her fun-loving little boy lying on the ground.
“He could still tell us his name. He was trying to get up,” Swatt said.
Police say he was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“He was gone before we got to the hospital, though. They didn’t tell it to me, but I’m watching him right there,” Swatt said.
Monday afternoon, the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office arrested 41-year-old Napoleon Espino with hit and run causing death or serious bodily injury.
Now, White’s mother is left to pick up the pieces.
“This is going on forever. This is the forever end of the story. I’m going to wake up every day, and it’s going to be the same feeling,” Swatt said.
She described her son as emotionally connected to others. If someone in his class felt left out or sad, White was the first person to come to the rescue.
“Overall, he was a very loving child, very in tune with his emotions. He could spot sadness a mile away,” Swatt said.
A statement from St. Bernard Parish Public Schools said the child was a kindergarten student from Meraux Elementary who was killed in a car crash.
"We are deeply saddened by this news and are praying for him, his family and all of our Meraux Elementary family during this most difficult time."
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