Police name suspect charged with DUI after toddler hit, killed near restaurant

A man was charged with DUI after police say he fatally hit a 1-year-old boy with his truck in Anderson, South Carolina, on Monday night, according to Anderson police. The toddler was hit about 8:15 p.m. near El Latino Bar & Grill in the 1500 block of South Murray Avenue. According to the Anderson County coroner's office, a mother and father were cleaning the restaurant when the father of the child opened the back door to take out trash. He did not know that his 14-month-old child followed him outside. "The child then wandered into the road and was hit by the truck," Alyssa Whitfield, the public information officer with the coroner's office, said. According to Whitfield, David Metz continued driving, then turned back around. Whitfield told WYFF 4 that a helicopter was called to the scene but was unavailable; the reason is unknown. "Yes, the child was in the roadway when he was hit. But at the same time, if the driver would not have been under the influence, he may, could have reacted a little bit quicker and switched lanes," Whitfield said. Around 9:10 p.m., the Anderson County Coroner's Office said that a toddler had died at the hospital. "That one decision changed not only his life, but this family in this child's life, forever." Whitfield said.David Ronald Metz, 62, of Anderson, was charged with felony DUI involving death, police announced Tuesday morning. Metz received a $60,000 bond and has been ordered to have no contact with the victim's family. He will also be required to wear a GPS-monitoring device upon release. His next court date is scheduled for June 11.Metz's attorney argued that he had a local business, was not a flight risk, and had no prior convictions and a clean driving record. The incident is currently under investigation by Anderson police with assistance from South Carolina Highway Patrol. This comes only a day after two children were hit and killed in another DUI crash in Spartanburg County.Keep up with what's happening around our area by downloading the WYFF News 4 app on the App Store or Google Play.