Robbie Mead: Buckeye family devastated as 4-year-old dies in crash while crossing the road on his bike
BUCKEYE, ARIZONA: A family in Arizona is heartbroken over the death of a little boy who was hit and killed by a pickup truck in Buckeye while he was riding his bike near his home. The incident happened around noon on November 20, according to officials.
On Sunday, Buckeye Police were called to a crash along South Apache Road and Yuma Road at 12.40 pm. Upon arrival, they discovered 4-year-old Robbie Mead, who had been severely hurt after being hit by a pickup truck. The incident happened as the child was crossing the street on his bike. He was taken to the hospital by first responders, where he was later pronounced dead. According to the police, the driver of the pickup truck remained on scene and impairment doesn't seem to have been an issue.
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Robbie would have turned five on December 2. His parents, who had been preparing for his birthday celebration, are now forced to arrange a funeral for their son. "He just wanted to take his bike down to the park to see his friends," Robbie's mother Gabby told Fox News. "I gave him a hug and a kiss, and told him 'that’s OK, mommy’s gotta make lunch for your sister and brother. Come back in a little for lunch.'" Gabby said Robbie went to the park near their home but never came home. "Went across the crosswalk to come back home on his bike, and got hit by a truck," said Gabby. "They tried everything they could on scene, and couldn’t get his heart beating again."
The incident is still under investigation. "They’re thinking it was an accident, but regardless, I can't bring my baby home," said Gabby. "The injuries that he sustained is that he was hit hard enough that he was probably killed instantaneously, which means in a 10MPH zone, where someone should be able to stop and pay attention to the crosswalk areas, we can only assume that they were going much faster and did not," said Robbie's grandmother, Charlotte Delohi.
The Meads are currently attempting to have stop signs installed next to the park so that drivers must stop when people are crossing the street. "If there was a stop sign, the vehicle would have had to look to make sure no kids were coming, because there are constant times that kids would just go past, and it wasn’t just my kid that wouldn’t stop. They would just go. Keep going," said Gabby.
A GoFundMe was organized for Robbie by Tabatha Hartley Lennie with the goal of $20,000 which said, "Hi, my name is Tabatha; I am asking for support for Robbie's family. He was just weeks away from his 5th birthday. Today while doing his favorite thing, riding his bike, he was struck by a truck and killed. He was a sweet little boy who was always ready to play with friends. All will miss him. He is survived by his parent, little sister Mille and little brother Archer."