One of the bystanders who provided emergency first aid to the eight-year-old boy fatally hit by a truck Sunday has come forward to Nanaimo RCMP.
Nanaimo RCMP were looking to obtain statements from several bystanders who were at the scene immediately after the Ford F350 pickup truck struck Linden Baglo, who was riding his bike on Nelson Street near his family home.
A man driving his children to an appointment provided emergency first aid before Linden was taken by B.C. Ambulance paramedics to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The man did not stay at the scene long enough to talk with investigators, but Nanaimo RCMP spokesman Const. Gary O’Brien said the man saw the appeal for witnesses Monday and went to the station to provide information.
Linden’s 10-year-old sister Shelby, who was riding her bike with Linden when he was struck, was expected to be interviewed Tuesday, O’Brien said.
“[They’ll do that] very carefully,” O’Brien said. “It’s not easy for her to go back through that.”
Victim-services workers were to be on hand to assist the sister and Linden’s parents, Kalen and Jenn.
The driver of the pickup truck has been co-operative. Nanaimo RCMP have ruled out speed, alcohol and drugs as factors.
The pickup was seized by investigators and will undergo a mechanical inspection.
The investigation is ongoing, but “it’s leaning toward just a terrible tragedy,” O’Brien said. “He just didn’t see the kids when he came out.”
Linden was a “loving, adorable, funny little boy” who brought “joy and smiles to everyone’s life,” said Tracy Williams, a family friend who created a GoFundMe page to support Linden’s parents. Williams called Linden a “charismatic sweet boy who loved to tell stories.”
The fundraising campaign, which will help his parents pay for funeral costs, raised more than $28,000 in the first day and a half.
