GASTONIA, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) -- Two Gastonia parents appeared in court on Monday and accepted responsibility for the death of their 7-year-old son, Legend Jenkins, who was struck by a car last month while crossing a busy road, according to the Gaston County district attorney.
Both Jessica Ivey and Samuele Jenkins pleaded guilty to felony child abuse in Gaston County Superior Court on Monday, June 23.
Gastonia authorities said on May 27, 2025, Legend and his 10-year-old brother tried to cross Hudson Boulevard alone to pick up food from a nearby Subway. Tragically, Legend was hit by a car on the return trip and died later that night at Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte.
Photo: 7-year-old Legend, courtesy of the family (Queen City News)According to investigators, the boys crossed in the middle of the block, not at a designated crosswalk, and tried to navigate a tree-lined median before Legend stepped into oncoming traffic. Witnesses and video footage confirmed that the 76-year-old driver who struck Legend was not at fault and had been driving safely within the speed limit, police explained.
Authorities revealed that the two boys had been sent out alone by their parents to get food from the Subway across the four-lane road. Surveillance footage from the shopping center confirmed that the children arrived unaccompanied.
Both parents were initially charged with involuntary manslaughter and felony child abuse. As part of Monday's plea agreement, the manslaughter charges were dropped, and the pair was sentenced to probation.
Samuele Jenkins and Jessica Ivey. (Gaston County Sheriff's Office)Jenkins received a suspended sentence of 19 to 32 months in prison and was placed on supervised probation for three years. Ivey received a similar suspended sentence of 10 to 21 months, along with 30 months of supervised probation. Both are required to cooperate with the Department of Social Services and complete parenting classes as a condition of their probation.
District Attorney Travis Page said the decision to offer a probationary sentence came after careful consideration of the facts and the emotional toll the case has taken on all involved.
My heart is broken for a young boy that will grow up without a brother, a motorist that will never forget the sounds and images of a horrible accident, and candidly, for parents dealing with the unimaginable loss of a son.
There is no prison or punishment worse than a parent living with the knowledge their decision-making and their actions caused the harm of their own child.
These parents do not deserve prison—they need mercy, they need grace, and they need a community to support them and other struggling parents in hopes that a tragedy such as this will never happen again.
District Attorney Travis Page Read More Details
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