A 9-year-old Florida boy who survived cancer tragically died Tuesday when he was struck by a crushed school bus, his family said on a GoFundMe page.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), the boy, Elias Amir Marshall Rodriguez, got off the bus and when the driver started, he went under the vehicle and struck him unconscious. FOX 35 Orlando. The incident happened around 4 p.m. at the Waterford East Apartments on Island Bay Drive in Orlando, where one family member said he climbed under a bus to retrieve a soccer ball.
The boy's aunt set up a GoFundMe page Wednesday to raise money for Marshall Rodriguez's mother, who overcame lymphocytic leukemia, a type of blood cancer, that was diagnosed when he was 2 years old. revealed.
Elias Amir Marshall Rodriguez was diagnosed with lymphocytic leukemia at the age of two and was in remission. (GoFundMe, left, Joe Raedle/Getty Images, right)
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“Elias was a resilient and energetic boy who had a joy for life,” his heartbroken aunt Trena Gale wrote.
“Despite this grueling journey, he was always smiling and in remission. He was a really sociable, caring and loving child.”
Gail wrote that her nephew dreamed of playing in the NFL and was loved throughout the Waterford East community.
“His loss is truly unbearable and undeserving,” she wrote, urging people to donate to a fund to support the boy's mother. She wrote that her mother is a single mother with two other children, one of whom is autistic and legally blind.
“My aunt will never be the same after this tragedy,” Gail wrote. “Donations received will be used to pay for Elias' rehoming services and to help his aunt manage living expenses, counseling, and family well-being.” The GoFundMe has raised approximately $20,000 as of this article's publication. I am.
A Florida boy who died after being hit by a school bus while retrieving a football survived lymphocytic leukemia, a type of blood cancer, at the age of two. (Joe Radle/Getty Images)
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Orange County Public Schools said Marshall Rodriguez attended Lawton Chiles Elementary School.
The bus was stationary when the boy got off the bus, but when the driver tried to drive away, the boy ran back towards the bus and crawled under the bus while it was moving, FHP said. stated in the preliminary report.
Police said the bus driver did not realize the boy had returned near the bus and ran him over.
“It's really devastating for the families here and for the investigators who have to investigate these types of scenes,” said FHP spokeswoman Lt. Tara Crescenzi.
Crescenzi said the boy was the only student on the bus.
Elias Amir Marshall Rodriguez attended Lawton Chiles Elementary School. (Google Maps)
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Officers reviewed surveillance video from the school bus and the apartment complex and interviewed the bus driver, a 54-year-old man with more than 10 years of experience, and at least one witness. The bus was towed away for mechanical inspection.
“What happened here tonight will be extremely tragic for a long time and probably for the rest of their lives,” Crescenzi said.
FOX News' Landon Mion contributed to this report.
