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GoFundMe started for family of boy killed by school bus in Hyde Park
The fundraiser had raised over $27,000 as of Friday.
A community is mobilizing fundraising efforts and pedestrian safety improvements after a 5-year-old boy was killed by a school bus in Hyde Park on Monday.
Lens Arthur Joseph was hit when he got off the bus on his way home from school at around 2:45 p.m. near 107 Washington St., Boston.com previously reported.
A fundraiser for Joseph’s family had raised over $27,000 as of Friday.
“In his short 5 years of life Lens already had so many big dreams for himself and an imagination beyond his years,” the GoFundMe page says. “Lens was a beautiful, curious, and intelligent boy taken from us too soon.”
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A vigil organized by West Fairmount Hill Community Group has been postponed to give Joseph’s family time to grieve. The group told Boston.com that they are planning an advocacy meeting in the coming weeks to discuss community safety.
Councilor Enrique J. Pepén, who represents Hyde Park, told Boston.com that he is working closely with city officials to “rapidly expand traffic-calming measures like speed humps, signage, and crosswalks, especially in high-risk areas.”
Hyde Park and Mattapan have some of the lowest numbers of speed humps, according to Pepén. Street safety will be discussed at an upcoming hearing on June 9, where he plans to call for faster installation, he said.
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“My heart goes out to the family impacted by this heartbreaking tragedy in Hyde Park,” he said in a statement.
In a City Council meeting on Wednesday, Councilor Erin Murphy said it is “important that we look to improve our city’s approach at traffic calming.”
“I’m looking forward to working alongside my colleagues to make sure that all of our residents, especially our youngest ones, our most vulnerable, are safe on our streets,” she said.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley said Joseph was a “beautiful little boy.”
“He was loving, kind-hearted, and had his whole life ahead of him,” Pressley said in a statement. “My heart breaks for his family, loved ones, and the Hyde Park community. I’m keeping all of them close in my prayers.”
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