NEWRY – A 2½-year-old Bethel-area boy died Sunday morning at the Sunday River Ski Resort after he was accidentally run over by a pickup truck driven by his father.

Wyatt Bennett, the son of 42-year-old James Bennett, was with his father on the Starlight Trail behind the Grand Summit Hotel when the accident occurred around 10:30 a.m.

James Bennett, a Bethel Fire and Rescue worker and a subcontractor for a fireworks company, was doing maintenance work on the trail when he sat his son on a wood pile while he moved his pickup truck, according to Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland.

As Bennett moved his truck, the boy wandered into the path of the vehicle and was crushed by one of the tires, McCausland said.

The Bennetts previously lost another son, 2-year-old Samuel, in 2003 following a freak tree-felling accident at their house lot in Bethel, according to Bethel fire Chief Michael Jodrey.

The toddler died of a head injury after he was struck by a tree being cut down by his father, according to a 2003 Sun Journal article.

“Obviously, everyone’s hearts are going out to the family right now,” Jodrey said Sunday night. “I wouldn’t wish this on somebody once, never mind twice.”

Bethel Fire and Rescue will organize a fundraiser or memorial event in honor of Wyatt following the proper grieving period, Jodrey said.

Bennett used his radio to call for help after Sunday’s accident, but his son was pronounced dead at the scene, according to McCausland.

Alex Kaufman, spokesman for Sunday River, declined to comment on the accident Sunday night.