A Slidell man has arrested and is accused of hitting a 6-year-old boy with his SUV Wednesday evening and then fleeing, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office said.

The boy's mother drove him to an area hospital where he later died, the Sheriff's Office said in a news release Thursday.

Deputies spotted the vehicle allegedly involved, a 2022 Chevrolet Suburban, later Wednesday night being driven on East Gauve Boulevard and pulled it over. The driver, Cody Michael Beaudette, 35, was arrested, the Sheriff's Office said.

Beaudette is accused of driving the vehicle when it hit the boy, who was riding a scooter in his driveway. Deputies were called to Northshore Lane shortly before 6 p.m., the Sheriff's Office said.

Beaudette was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center on char

See Full Page