Mom speaks out after forklift kills her 15-year-old son Sunday afternoon

By MARY ALICE ROYSE, MICHAEL WARRICK

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    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — A 15-year-old died Sunday afternoon by an overturned forklift, said Metro police.

According to officials, Jayden Dalton, of Nashville, died when a forklift that he was allegedly playing on/operating overturned on top of him in a lot of an equipment rental business located on 505 Davidson Street.

Police said Dalton and another teen allegedly started the engines to machinery on the lot. A witness reported that Jayden was doing donuts on the forklift when it overturned.

News4 spoke to Dalton’s mother, Latasha, on Monday. She described her son as a creative, fun big brother who loved looking after his siblings.

“People would think that I had him trained like that, but that was him. That’s how he was. He cared about his siblings,” Latasha Dalton said. “[Jaden had] a very big personality. He loved to rap, dance, anything. You name it.”

Dalton’s family believes Jaden and his friends got into the back of Equipment Finders, Inc. by jumping over a barricade. Latasha remembered getting a phone call from the night of the accident and learning that Jaden had died after “donuts” on the forklift.

“I just broke down in tears, and I couldn’t take it in. It was too hard to swallow,” Latasha Dalton said. “People are [driving by] honking today, saying sorry for your loss, but that ain’t bringing him back. I mean, he was a good child, and I mean everybody loved him.”

Dalton’s family has set up a GoFundMe to help buy Jaden a headstone, among other funeral costs. If you’d like to give, visit this link. Metro police classified his death as accidental. Maplewood High school, Jayden’s former school, sent out this statement:

“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Jayden Dalton, a 9th grade student at Maplewood High who tragically lost his life in an accident yesterday. Our support team has been working with the school to provide grief counseling as they mourn the loss of their classmate”.

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