Family mourns child struck getting off school bus on Longwoods Rd.
CBC
A seven-year-old boy from London is being remembered as a kind-hearted kid with a heart of gold who was loved.
Dante Caranci was struck and fatally injured in a collision near Longwoods and Murray roads, just west of Lambeth on the south edge of London, at around 4 p.m. Monday.
Caranci was rushed to London's Victoria Hospital following the crash and was pronounced dead on Tuesday, according to a GoFundMe organized by a family friend.
The boy was struck as he was getting off of his school bus, the post reads.
"He'd give anything to anybody, and he always had the biggest smile on his face. He had so many friends," the boy's grandmother, Judy Madzia, told CBC News.
Caranci was in Grade 2 and was a fan of video games and sports, she said, adding that he was a "great little hockey player" who was following in his big brother's footsteps.
"He didn't live his life. He only started. What that does to his family is just unimaginable."
Madzia noted she hadn't seen any police report and was still unsure exactly what had happened.
"I can't believe someone wouldn't stop for a school bus. How that happens, I don't know," she said.
A police spokesperson was not available for comment on Wednesday. Police have not said whether charges are pending in the collision, and few details about what occurred have been made public.
In their initial statement on Monday, police said that all involved parties had remained at the scene.
Members of the community have rallied around the Caranci family.
As of Wednesday evening, the GoFundMe, launched to help cover funeral costs and any other expenses, had raised more than $91,000.
"No words can express the heartbreak of losing a child. This is such an incredible family, and Dante was such a loving boy who will be deeply missed," the campaign page reads. Its organizer declined to be interviewed.