A nine-year-old boy who was crushed to death by a school bus after crawling under the vehicle to get a football was a cancer survivor.
Elyas Marshall-Rodriguez, 9, was the last child to be dropped just before 4pm on Tuesday in the parking lot of the Waterford East Apartments.
The young boy went back to the bus to retrieve a football by crawling underneath the vehicle – but the bus driver was unaware of the little boy’s position and began to drive off.
In a candlelit vigil on Wednesday, you child’s family revealed he had ‘been through a lot’ in his short life.
Family members revealed that Elyas was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of two and had been in remission.
Elyas Marshall-Rodriguez, 9, was crushed to death by a school bus after crawling under the vehicle to get a football
Family members revealed that Elyas was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of two and had been in remission
The young boy went back to the bus to retrieve a football by crawling underneath the vehicle – but the bus driver was unaware of the little boy’s position and began to drive off
‘He had already been through a lot in his life, so for this to happen is like a spine lodged in our hearts,’ his cousin Trenae Gayle said.
‘He was one of those kids, you couldn’t come around him sad,’ Gayle said.
‘We can already feel that shift in the home. It’s going to be very hard. ‘We just have to take it day by day,’ the cousin added.
Over 100 relatives and members of the community members gathered outside the apartment building where Elyas was tragically killed on Tuesday afternoon.
Elyas was a third grader at Lawton Childes Elementary School, a school close to the apartment where he lived.
One of Elyas’s surviving siblings has autism and is legally blind, according to a GoFundMe set up to help the family.
The donations will be ‘used to cover the costs of Elyas’ home going services and for my Aunt, a single mother, to be able to manage living expenses, counseling and the well being of her family,’ the page stated.
The GoFundMe, which was organized by Elyas’s cousin Trenae Gayle, has raised over $19,000 so far.
Over 100 relatives and members of the community members gathered outside the apartment building where Elyas was tragically killed on Tuesday afternoon
The page said that Elyas was ‘was senselessly and tragically killed when hit by a school bus.’
Gayle described Elyas as ‘a resilient and energy filled boy with a joy of life’ who ‘overcame Lymphoma (Leukemia) cancer which he was diagnosed at the young age of two years old.’
She said ‘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. He loved football and had dreams of playing in the NFL.
‘He was loved throughout his community in Waterford East by his neighbors and friends.
‘His loss is truly unbearable and undeserving. My aunt will never be the same and in the wake of this tragedy she also has two other children to care and provide for.’