A 9-year-old North Carolina boy was killed Sunday afternoon after a car struck him while he was riding his bicycle near his home.
Keegan Brooks was riding with a friend near Knightwood Drive and Bengel Drive in Durham at about 12:45 p.m. on September 13 when he was hit by a vehicle. His mother, Courtney Brooks, said she had spoken to her son shortly before the crash and told him to be careful because the family was getting ready to leave for baseball practice.
According to his mother, Keegan’s friend came running into the house screaming after the crash to tell the family that he had been hit. Brooks said she rushed outside and found her son lying on the ground.
The vehicle involved was a 2020 Hyundai Palisade driven by a woman, according to Durham police information cited by WRAL. Police have not announced any charges against the driver, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Through her grief, Brooks has urged drivers to be especially careful when traveling through residential neighborhoods. She said children can be riding bikes nearby and asked people to slow down rather than rush through local streets.
Keegan was a fourth-grade student at Oak Grove Elementary School. Following his death, the school notified parents, faculty and staff and said counselors would be available to help students cope with the loss of their classmate.
Brooks remembered her son as a “momma’s boy” who loved cuddling with her in the mornings. The family is now mourning a child whose ordinary Sunday bike ride ended in a fatal crash just outside his neighborhood home.
Authorities have not released further details about the circumstances leading up to the collision. The investigation is still underway, and no charges had been filed against the driver as of the latest report.