No criminal charges will be filed against the driver of a minivan that struck and killed a 6-year-old boy, Dist. Atty. Charles Branson said this afternoon.

Branson’s announcement came a day after police forwarded their report from the Jan. 30 wreck that killed Bryce Olsen at the intersection of Harper Street and East 25th Terrace.

“A full case review was completed by me and seven attorneys in my office and the unanimous decision was made to decline charges.” Branson said in a statement.

Branson called the wreck a “tragic accident” but said it didn’t meet the criteria required for vehicular homicide. That crime is defined as killing someone while driving in a way that “creates an unreasonable risk of injury to the person or property of another and which constitutes a material deviation from the standard of care which a reasonable person would observe under the same circumstances.”

“Under the facts of this case, the driver’s view was obstructed by shrubbery on the side of the road, it appears that the driver stopped at the stop sign and waited for traffic to clear before he proceeded forward, and there is doubt as to whether or not the child stopped before entering the roadway while riding a scooter,” Branson’s statement said.

Branson said he would refer the case back to police to ticket the minivan’s driver, Peter Matthias Kwesi Afful, 45, for driving without proof of insurance.

Branson reminded drivers to be cautious in neighborhoods where children live. He also reminded parents to review their children’s routes to school and practice them with their children to make sure they’re safe.

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