THOMASVILLE — The Grady County Sheriff’s Office has ruled the death of a Whigham child accidental.

Investigator Daniel Singletary said Monday Joshua Plath, 15 months old, was killed after his mother, Kimberly Plath, 36, accidentally ran over him. He said the investigation is closed and the death ruled “an accident.”

“The mother was pulling the vehicle forward — she had been doing yard work — and thought she had accounted for all the kids,” Singletary said. “She had seven children, ages 15 months to 10 years old, and they were all outside playing. She thought everyone was accounted for, moved the vehicle forward and discovered she’d run over the youngest.”

The incident occurred at 519 Tired Creek Rd. at approximately 5:15 p.m.

Deputies responded to the 911 call, Singletary said, and emergency personnel saw Plath trying to administer CPR to her son.

“Medical personnel took over and tried to save the child, but they were unsuccessful,” he said. “He was pronounced at the scene.”

Singletary said the family does not wish to be interviewed about the tragic loss and law enforcement officials are asking people respect their privacy. He said a private funeral service is expected to take place today.

“This is the first death like this I’ve had to investigate,” Singletary said. “You try to separate yourself but, as a parent, it pulls on your heartstrings. There was no wrongdoing, no negligence we could foresee. It was just a freak accident that occurred and we don’t believe we will be pursuing any charges. This was an unfortunate accident. We all pray for the family and hope they can get their lives back together.”