A 14-year-old boy is dead after he was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle in Fredericton Wednesday evening.
Police responded to the intersection of the Marysville Bypass at Greenwood Drive before 7:30 p.m.
The boy was taken to the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
He has been identified as Benjamin Dodding. He was a student at Leo Hayes High School. There were no classes Thursday due to a scheduled professional development day. Friday is also a professional development day, but the school will provide guidance counselling into next week.
“I do know that the school is going to open up tomorrow, and an invitation to students who want to attend, to come in. There will be a team of guidance counsellors available,” said David McTimony, the district superintendent with the Anglophone-West School District.
The intersection was closed to traffic for about four hours while police investigated the collision. It reopened to traffic around midnight.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash, but say it doesn’t appear criminal charges will be laid.
Police have confirmed that Dodding was not wearing a bicycle helmet at the time of the crash. While it’s unclear whether a helmet would have prevented his death, his parents tell CTV News they were constantly asking their son to wear one.
Dodding’s parents say they will remember their son as a kind teenager with a big heart.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact police.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Nick Moore
