Connecticut mom whose son was killed after visiting ice cream truck pushes for new law

Christy Carano is fighting for federal ice cream truck safety legislation in memory of her son.

In 2020, Carano lost her beloved 10-year-old son, Tristan Berhorst, who was hit and killed by a car after buying a treat from an ice cream truck in Wallingford, Connecticut.

“He was an old soul: compassionate, loving, thoughtful, selfless, intelligent, incredibly funny, incredibly athletic, grateful and creative,” Carano told Fox News Digital.

Mother of child who died after visiting ice cream truck speaks out for safety legislation

“Words cannot express what kind of person he was and the size of the hole we have now that he is gone.”

Carano said the truck that sold her son his last ice cream had safety features like lights and a stop sign, but the driver didn’t activate them because it was daytime.

Carano said her son was celebrating his dad’s birthday in the backyard when an ice cream truck rolled down the street and a crowd of kids came out to greet it.

The truck pulled over on the other side of the road and allowed the children at the party to cross the road – there were no children on the other side.

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Tristan ordered ice cream, then after eating it, was crossing the road alone to return home when he was struck by a car going 40 mph in a 25 mph speed zone.

The driver was a teenager, but the family did not press charges against him.

“He was an old soul: caring, loving, thoughtful, selfless, smart, incredibly funny, incredibly athletic, grateful and creative,” Christy Carano said of her son Tristan, pictured here together. (Christy Carano)

The mother has used her tragedy as motivation to raise awareness to protect other children from the same misfortune.

In 2022, Carano helped pass a law in Connecticut requiring ice cream trucks to install and use proper safety equipment, such as warning lights, stop signs and crosswalks.

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“Tristan’s Law” requires all traffic to stop 10 feet in front of or behind an ice cream truck when the crosswalk ahead is extended.

The law also prohibits trucks from selling ice cream on roads with speed limits over 25 miles per hour and within 500 feet of an elementary or middle school on school days.

Carano has called on the federal government to enact similar legislation.

Tristan Berhorst was 10 years old when he died. Christy Carano has been instrumental in enforcing federal ice cream truck safety laws since losing her son in an accident in Wallingford, Connecticut. (Christy Carano)

Carano said after investigating, he found ice cream truck accidents are under-reported.

“There are no good statistics at the moment. [losing] Even having one child is too much,” she said.

Amber Rollins, director of Kansas City-area-based Kids & Car Safety, told Fox News Digital that current federal data reporting on ice cream truck accidents is incorrect.

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“We have very few ice cream truck-related accidents in our database,” Rollins said.

“And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

Christy Carano, pictured with her family, told Fox News Digital that the truck that sold her son his last ice cream had safety features like lights and a stop sign, but the driver didn’t activate them because it was daytime. (Christy Carano)

Rollins said a major problem with intelligence gathering is that reports downplay “non-traffic related” incidents.

“Because many of these accidents happen in parking lots, driveways and other off-road locations, we miss a lot of cases,” she said.

Current federal accident reporting only covers accidents on public roads.

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“NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis and Reporting System (FARS) contains data on all motor vehicle fatality crashes occurring in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico,” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials said in an emailed statement to Fox News Digital.

“To be included in FARS, a traffic accident must involve a motor vehicle traveling on a roadway normally open to the public and result in the death of a vehicle occupant or non-occupant within 30 days after the accident occurs.”

“Because many of these accidents happen in parking lots, driveways and other off-road locations, we miss a huge number of incidents.”

“FARS cannot uniquely identify ice cream trucks in the data,” the official added.

Rollins said the primary goal of Child & Car Safety is to get everyone working on auto safety and injury prevention issues to “look at motor vehicle injuries and fatalities as a whole, rather than separating them into two categories: road and non-road accidents.”

She added: “You’re going to miss a lot of the story that way.”

Ice cream truck accidents are under-reported, Carano said. “There are no good statistics at the moment. [losing] Even one child is too many.” (Ellen Moran)

Fox News Digital spoke with Janet Fennell, president and founder of Kids & Car Safety in 2021.

Another issue, she said, is that “this case cannot be tied to ‘ice cream truck,’ but could include the terms ‘slush, ice cream, ice cream, icy, snow cone, snow cone, snow cone, snow cone, popsicle, treat, shave ice, Kona ice, ice.'”

“Tragic accidents like this are by no means uncommon or rare.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, has introduced federal legislation in 2021 that would offer incentives to states that implement such regulations. The bill would also require the Department of Transportation to find ways to better track such injuries and deaths.

“Tragic accidents like these are neither uncommon nor rare, which is why I have proposed federal legislation to encourage states to do the same thing Connecticut did after Tristan’s death,” Blumenthal said in an emailed statement to Fox News Digital.

As the family mourns the death of 10-year-old Tristan, a bill addressing ice cream truck safety has been referred to the Commerce Committee, where it remains under consideration. (Christy Carano)

“Tristan’s parents worked tirelessly to get Tristan’s Law passed in the state of Connecticut, which would require ice cream trucks like the one that provided Tristan with one. [his last treat] “Having features that would be considered routine equipment on a school bus, such as crossing warning signs and flashing lights,” he added.

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The bill has been referred to the Committee on Commerce, where it is currently under consideration.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Transportation for further comment.