'He was such a good friend': Fifteen-year-old Florida student dies after getting hit by school bus

LAKELAND, FLORIDA: A school bus in Florida struck and killed a fifteen-year-old student. According to investigators, the victim was reportedly trying to cross a road on his bicycle at the time of the incident. His family later recognized him as Jaxon Crabtree via a GoFundMe page.

A press release from the Lakeland Police Department states that at around 7 am local time, police were called to the 3900 block of Pipkin Road in reference to a traffic collision between a bus from Schools of McKeel Academy and a student from Central Florida Aerospace Academy, as reported by People.

'Inquiry still underway' as per authority

Authorities stated, "The Lakeland Fire Department, Polk County Fire Rescue, and the Lakeland Police Department all arrived to begin life-saving measures."

After being taken to Lakeland Regional Health, Crabtree was declared dead, according to the statement.

A second report from Lakeland Police stated that the bike was trying to make a left turn northbound onto Medulla Road from the eastbound left turn lane while "the school bus was traveling west on West Pipkin Road approaching Medulla Road" according to the evidence collected.

According to the authorities, Crabtree was struck fatally by the bus because he was in its path, although the inquiry is still underway.

The statement also mentioned that Nina Lewis, the 71-year-old school bus driver, remained at the site. Eight people, ages eight to eleven, who were all students at McKeel Academy Central and South McKeel Academy, were onboard the bus.

At a press conference, Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor referred to the situation as a "horrific accident," according to local Fox affiliate WTVT.

The fact that it happened "20 days before Christmas makes it even worse," Taylor continued. Taylor added that the school bus driver was "extremely upset by the circumstances" and that the bus driver didn't seem to be speeding.

The victim's identity was not disclosed by Lakeland Police

The victim's identity was not disclosed by Lakeland Police in their press release; nevertheless, the teen was identified by numerous media accounts and a GoFundMe page set up in Crabtree's memory.

On the night of December 5, the community came together to mourn the death of Crabtree with a candlelight vigil at the accident site, according to local NBC station WFLA.

Carter Catalano, a friend of Crabtree, told the news station, “He was such a good friend, always there for me, always there for his classmates. It’s horrible to see something like this happen, especially because he bikes home every day.”