A 9-year-old Florida boy who had survived cancer was tragically killed when a school bus he crawled under struck him on Tuesday, his family stated on a GoFundMe page.
The boy, Elyas Amyr Marshall-Rodriguez, had gotten off the bus and then went under the vehicle when the driver took off and unknowingly ran him over, according to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) via FOX 35 Orlando. The incident took place at around 4 p.m. at the Waterford East Apartments on Island Bay Drive in Orlando, and a family member said he had gone under the bus to retrieve a football.
The boy’s aunt set up a GoFundMe page on Wednesday to generate money for Marshall-Rodriguez’s mother and revealed that he had overcome lymphocytic leukemia, a type of blood cancer that he was diagnosed with when he was 2 years old.
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"Elyas was a resilient and energy-filled boy with a joy of life," his heartbroken aunt Trenae Gayle wrote.
"Despite this grueling journey he always had a smile on his face and had been in remission. He truly was an outgoing, caring and loving child."
Gayle wrote that her nephew had dreams of playing in the NFL and was loved throughout his community in Waterford East.
"His loss is truly unbearable and undeserving," she wrote and asked people to donate to the fund to support the boy’s mother, who she wrote is a single mom with two other kids, one of whom has autism and is legally blind.
"My aunt will never be the same and in the wake of this tragedy," Gayle wrote. "The donations received will be used to cover the costs of Elyas’ homegoing services and for my aunt… to be able to manage living expenses, counseling and the well-being of her family." The GoFundMe has raised around $20,000 at the time of publication.
Marshall-Rodriguez attended Lawton Chiles Elementary School, Orange County Public Schools said.
The bus was stationary when the boy exited it, but as the driver began to drive away, the boy ran back toward the bus and crawled underneath it while it was moving, the FHP said in its preliminary report.
Troopers said the bus driver, who was unaware that the boy was back near the bus, ran him over.
"It is absolutely devastating for this family that is here, but also for our investigators that have to investigate this type of scene," FHP spokesperson Lt. Tara Crescenzi said.
Crescenzi said the boy was the only student on the bus.
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Troopers reviewed the surveillance video from the school bus and apartment complex and interviewed the bus driver, a 54-year-old man with more than a decade of experience, and at least one witness. The bus was towed away for a mechanical inspection.
"It’s going to be extremely tragic for a long period of time and probably for the rest of their lives for what has happened here tonight," Crescenzi said.
Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.
