An 8-year-old boy crawling through a space in an automatic gate died Tuesday after being crushed by the metal arm that opens the entryway to the suburban Las Vegas housing community where he lived . The arm that controls the gate moves back and forth in the space measuring 7 inches tall and nearly 3 feet wide that Matthew Cattlet was known to play in . Cattlet was trying to crawl through the horizontal opening designed to allow the arm of the gate to pass through when the gate swings open , police said in a statement . Freak accident : Matthew Cattlet , 8 , was crushed by the metal arm that opens this gate in Las Vegas . No child 's play : Matthew was trying to crawl through this horizontal opening in a gate measuring 7 inches tall and 3 feet wide - something he 's been known to do . He was struck after another child on a bicycle approached the gate Tuesday afternoon , inadvertently triggering a motion sensor for it to move , North Las Vegas police spokeswoman Chrissie Coon said . His official cause of death is pending , the Clark County coroner 's office said Wednesday . A teenager who saw the bar hit the boy called 911 around 5.30pm , reporting that Matthew was lodged in the gate at the Village at Craig Ranch and suffered a severe injury , Coon said . Other children between the ages of 8 and 14 playing nearby also witnessed the freak accident and have spoken to police . 'Reportedly , this young child frequently crawls through the space in the gate . He was trying to crawl through the arm of the gate but he could n't get out in time and the arm of the gate crushed him , ' Coon said . Community : Tragic struck at the Village at Craig Ranch in North Las Vegas Tuesday . Dangerous : The boy was struck after another child on a bicycle approached the gate Tuesday afternoon , inadvertently triggering a motion sensor . Matthew was taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas , where he died from his injuries . It is protocol to notify child protective services of the incident , but police say they do n't suspect criminal negligence . 'It appears just to be a tragic accident , ' Coon said . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article .
mark rider , 8 , was forced to crawl through horizontal opening in a gate measuring 7 inches tall and 3 feet wide in a Las Vegas . He was struck after another rider on a bicycle approached the gate , triggering a motion sensor .