Police said a delayed 911 call hurt efforts to save the 3-year-old child.
BRISTOL, Va. — A 21-year-old Virginia father and his mother face homicide charges after police said a tractor overturned onto his 3-year-old son and the adults waited about 22 minutes before anyone called 911.
Austin Tyler-Raymond Tester and Kelly M. Tester were charged after the April 23 incident in Bristol, a city on the Virginia-Tennessee line. Police said the boy was pinned beneath a John Deere 5200 tractor at the bottom of an embankment and later died at Bristol Regional Medical Center. Investigators said the delay in calling emergency crews “significantly impacted” efforts to save him.
The Bristol Virginia Police Department said the incident happened in the 100 block of Davis Alley. Investigators said Austin Tester was operating the farm tractor with his son riding along when it overturned. Police said Tester contacted Kelly Tester at about 11:17 a.m., before contacting emergency services. Kelly Tester arrived within minutes, but investigators said neither adult called 911 for help. The first emergency call came at about 11:39 a.m., roughly 22 minutes later. Officers and rescue crews reached the scene about 31 minutes after the crash, police said.
Responders found the tractor overturned with the child pinned underneath. Police, Bristol Virginia firefighters and Bristol Life Saving Crew members worked together to lift the tractor so medical crews could reach the boy. Officials said rescuers detected agonal breathing and started CPR at the scene. The child was taken to Bristol Regional Medical Center, where life-saving measures continued. He was pronounced dead at 12:35 p.m. Preliminary findings from the Office of the Medical Examiner listed the cause of death as asphyxiation, police said. Authorities have not released the boy’s name.
Police said Austin Tester left the scene shortly after Kelly Tester arrived. Investigators said he later told authorities he avoided law enforcement because he had an outstanding warrant tied to a probation violation from a prior drug-related offense. Officers searched for him with help from the U.S. Marshals Service and found him about 1:25 p.m. at a Fairmount Avenue residence tied to his mother. Police said Kelly Tester gave false information to law enforcement and helped conceal him. Investigators also said she had a custodial or guardian role involving the boy and failed to seek emergency medical help after arriving.
Austin Tester was first charged with felony child abuse and neglect and the probation violation. Kelly Tester was first charged with obstruction of justice. Police later announced additional charges after reviewing the timeline and medical findings. Austin Tester was charged with felony homicide in addition to the earlier offenses. Kelly Tester was charged with felony homicide and felony child abuse and neglect in addition to obstruction of justice. Police said after the added charges that both defendants were being held without bond at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Abingdon.
Bristol Police Chief D. Byron Ashbrook called the case “a heartbreaking and tragic incident” and said the department remained focused on accountability. “This investigation revealed a significant delay in contacting emergency services, which is deeply concerning,” Ashbrook said. He also said the case affected first responders who were called to act in a critical situation after the delay. Police thanked the fire department and rescue crew for their work at the scene, where crews had to move the heavy tractor before medics could reach the child.
The case centers on the timeline between the rollover, the call to Kelly Tester and the first 911 call. Police have not said who made the emergency call or whether anyone else saw the crash. They also have not said how the tractor overturned, where the boy was positioned when it rolled or whether any safety equipment was involved. Investigators have not released body camera footage, the 911 recording or any full crash reconstruction. The public details so far have come from police summaries issued after the initial arrests and after the added homicide charges.
The location, Davis Alley, sits in Bristol, a small independent city in far southwest Virginia near the Tennessee border. The case quickly drew regional attention because it involved a young child, a farm tractor and an alleged delay before emergency care. Felony homicide cases in Virginia can be filed when a death occurs during certain alleged felony conduct. In this case, police linked the added charges to the child abuse and neglect allegations, the delay in calling 911 and the medical examiner’s preliminary finding that the boy died from asphyxiation.
The next stage is expected to move through the courts in Bristol. Prosecutors will decide how to present the felony homicide and child abuse counts, while defense attorneys for the Testers will have the chance to respond to the allegations. Police said the investigation remained active after the added charges. Any final medical examiner report, court filing or probable cause hearing could add more detail about the crash, the delay and the actions investigators say followed.
The boy had been identified only by age as of the latest police updates. The next major milestone is expected in court, where the charges against Austin Tester and Kelly Tester will be reviewed as the homicide case moves forward.
Author note: Last updated May 7, 2026.