TOWN OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WKBW) — A 15-year-old boy has died after he was hit by a truck while riding his bicycle Tuesday night.
Officials with the Ken-Ton School District have identified the boy as Luke Guetti. A GoFundMe page has been created to help the family with medical and funeral costs.
His friends and teammates, Adam Giacomazza and Joseph Bundy, were emotional Thursday afternoon.
"It's hard a time," Giacomazza said.
"Yeah, it's very hard, especially losing someone like that that you've been close with for years," Bundy said.
WATCH BELOW: Kristen Mirand reports from the scene Thursday afternoon where there is now a memorial for Luke.
Town of Tonawanda Police say he was hit around 8:20 p.m. at Woodstock Avenue and Yorkshire Road.
Guetti was taken to the Oishei Children's Hospital where he passed away from his injuries Thursday morning.
Giacomazza was nearby when the crash happened.
"And I came out and I was with him until the first responders arrived," he said.
There's now a growing memorial in honor of Guetti with flowers, candles and a football.
"He's a kind person. He's a very kind person. He's the one you want to be friends with. He's the one you look up to. He's a role model. He's a very good kid," Bundy said.
The Kenmore East High School principal provided the following statement after Luke Guetti's passing.
"Last person to deserve this at all. Great student. Great athlete. He was a beautiful person. You know? Outstanding role model," Giacomazza said.
The community is rallying behind Guetti's family through a GoFundMe raising thousands of dollars. There's also a planned prayer and candlelight vigil on Thursday at 8 p.m. at Kenney Park on Colvin Boulevard.
"I just want him to be remembered," Giacomazza said. "I just don't want people to forget about Luke. Luke Guetti. Amazing person, amazing friend."
Rob Rice has lived in this neighborhood for 26 years.
"It's devastating. You have a 15-year-old kid that never got a chance to live his life and his parents have got to be destroyed," he said.
He was just a few doors down from where the crash happened.
"We came out and looked and saw the bike underneath the truck and knew that it was a kid familiar with the neighborhood," Rice said.
He said the intersection has been a problem for years and that neighbors have petitioned in the past for a four-way stop but those efforts failed.
"And it was totally avoidable that they would have followed through with the petition and gave us a four-way stop," he said.
Neighbors said they trying again and have been in touch with the current Town Supervisor Joe Emminger.
Below you can see raw video from the scene of the accident.
Police say the driver of the pickup is cooperating with the investigation and charges are not expected.
As of August 4th, a new petition has been created calling for a 4-way stop to be added to the intersection of Woodstock Avenue and Yorkshire Road. You can sign it here.
