A 6-year-old child was killed in New York after they attempted to board a school bus with his older brother.
The New York Police Department identified the victim in Wednesday’s incident as Shimon Fried. Shimon’s family have been mourning their precious loss.
“He was a holy child,” his father, Malky Fried, told the outlet. “He did unusual things for his age. He wanted to learn and grow.”
Shimon’s aunt added to the Daily News that her nephew was “a child that liked everything” and was “very happy” and “great-natured.”
According to authorities, the fatal incident happened at around 8:30 a.m. — and when authorities arrived, they found the boy “unconscious and unresponsive with trauma about the body.” According to the NYPD, EMS later pronounced him dead at the scene.
A preliminary investigation by officials determined that Shimon was struck by the school bus at the intersection just before the driver pulled away. And surveillance video obtained by WCBS captured the moment that Shimon’s 9-year-old brother got on the bus and Shimon, who did not.
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“At that point, the school bus driver closed the door and proceeded to pull forward. As he was doing that, the 6-year-old was crossing in front of the school bus. I believe, unbeknownst to the driver, the 6-year-old stepped in front of the bus. The bus hit the child and the child was run over,” NYPD Sgt. Robert Denig said during a press conference.
Just minutes after the incident, Denig said the driver of a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus spotted Shimon in the road and called 911.
The driver of the school bus was later apprehended and taken into custody for questioning, according to authorities.
“At this juncture, there are no charges,” Denig said, according to WCBS. “There is a lot of work that has to go into this case because of the severity of what occurred.”
Shimon’s funeral was held last Wednesday at a synagogue in South Williamsburg.
Many are devastated over the boy’s sudden death and neighbors are wondering how his family will be able to move on.
“He was a sweet little boy,” one neighbor shared with the Daily News. “He used to play with my kids. Sometimes he would play out here.”
While another neighbor said of the incident, “These things happen in a split second. It’s like, one bad move of a child, one bad move of a vehicle, it’s like an eye blink.”
“I walk down this street every day. I’m never going to be able to walk down this street again. It’s absolutely traumatizing,” added someone else. “I don’t know how a parent can go back home afterward.”
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