“These specialized counselors will remain at our school to assist us as long as we need to work through this grieving process,” Masunaga wrote. “This assistance will include support in our classrooms, as well as help available for individual student needs.”
Masunaga wrote that the school is supporting the boy’s family and offered a comprehensive website to assist parents with supporting their children in light of the death: https://childmind.org/guide/helping-children-cope-grief.
“We know the days ahead will provide us challenges, and we will continue to work and support our students and staff during this difficult time,” Masunaga wrote.
An initial traffic investigation found the truck was eastbound on Ninth Street, and the bicyclist was northbound on 167th Avenue, riding in the roadway. At the four-way intersection, the bicyclist rode directly into the path of the eastbound truck and was hit, according to the sheriff’s office.
The driver, identified as 45-year-old James Elieisar of Vancouver, stayed at the scene and assisted deputies.
The boy was wearing a helmet. He lived close to the scene of the crash, deputies said.
“Further investigation will be conducted to determine proximate causes of the collision. The intersection is in a residential neighborhood, with a posted 25 mph speed limit. The intersection is controlled by stop signs two ways, for north and southbound traffic. The truck’s travel path was not controlled by a stop sign,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Alex Schoening said in an email that it’s too early to tell definitively, but it’s likely that excessive speed was not a factor. Schoening said the truck’s driver was taking his own child to school.
Ninth Street was closed in the area due to the investigation.
There were multiple sheriff’s office vehicles at the scene more than two hours after the crash was reported. The residential street was otherwise quiet.
Passersby said drivers often speed on the street, which cuts 10 blocks through a neighborhood starting at Northeast 162nd Avenue on its west end.
Crime scene tape stretched across the road. A handful of deputies wearing bright green vests stood beside the passenger’s side of a black truck; on the other side of the truck, a bicycle lay in the street.
A tow truck was seen impounding the pickup around 11:30 a.m.
