Iowa toddler who loved animals killed in a farm accident
Walker Reid Maassen was an energetic, animal-loving toddler. His big brown eyes and smile lit up any room he entered.
The nearly 2-year-old died May 6 after he was struck by a truck his father was driving on the family farm in Sioux Center.
"Walker was full of energy and was on the go from morning till night," his obituary reads. " People often commented that he should have been named 'Runner' as he rarely walked anywhere."
It was a typical Saturday, his mother Amy Maassen told the Des Moines Register, with the family outside all day working around the farm. They had brought new goats home that day.
Walker's father, 30-year-old Christopher Maassen, was driving a pickup truck on the farm when stopped to unhook a trailer, according to a news release from the Sioux County Sheriff's Office. As he resumed his drive, he apparently struck his 20-month-old son, the release said.
Officials told the Register they have no plans to file charges and believe the child's death was an unfortunate accident.
"Nobody saw him," Amy Maassen said.
She recalls her husband bringing Walker to the front of the house, where they tended to him until EMS arrived, her three other children watching. Maassen said in that moment they could sense things weren't looking good.
He later died at Sioux Center Health.
Born Sept. 4, 2021, Walker loved living on the family farm. "He was always eager to help with chores or hop into the skid loader whenever the opportunity presented itself," his obituary said.
"Anybody who met him instantly fell in love with him," Maassen said. "He had the biggest smile and always was waving at people."
Two days before the accident, the family went to the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Maassen remembers him running around and loving every second of it.
The day he died was no exception: "that kid had a smile on his face the entire day until he could not smile anymore," she said.
Maassen said since his funeral May 12, she's had time to reflect on the things that matter most in life — her family.
"When you're with your kids, be with them. Not on your phones. Be with your kids 100% and just be in the moment," she said.
And the community has been there for Maassen since the tragic accident, with so many people wanting to cook family meals and do chores. A meal train organized by Walker's grandmother Sandy Bakker has meals planned for the family until after the Fourth of the July.
"It literally blows our minds how caring and compassionate someone can be who has never met you in their life," Maassen said. "It's very humbling and overwhelming at the same time."
People also can donate to any Peoples Bank location to the "Benefit Account for Chris & Amy Maassen."
Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter @NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa toddler who loved animals killed in a farm accident
