Crash that killed 4-year-old leaves Buckeye family heartbroken
BUCKEYE, Ariz. - An Arizona family is in mourning, following the death of a little boy who was hit and killed by a pickup truck in Buckeye.
According to Buckeye Police officials, the incident happened around noon on Nov. 20. While the driver stayed on the scene, four-year-old Robbie Mead was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Robbie was set to turn five on Dec. 2. His parents were planning his birthday party, but now, they are forced to plan funeral services for their little boy.
"He just wanted to take his bike down to the park to see his friends," said Robbie's mother, Gabby Mead. "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 in the Leaf Verde RV Resort, 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 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.
Buckeye Police officials say the incident is still under investigation. However, they do not believe impairment was a factor.
"They’re thinking it was an accident, but regardless, I can’t bring my baby home," said Gabby.
The Meads are now trying to get stop signs put in near the park, so drivers are forced to stop when people are crossing the road.
"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.
Officials with the RV park have told the family that they will be putting stop signs in the area of the park where the deadly crash happened.