BUFFALO, N.Y. — 2 On Your Side is now hearing from the family of a Buffalo boy who was hit by a pickup truck Tuesday and has since died from his injuries.
His family tells us that he was on his way home from school when the accident happened and they are now demanding answers about what happened.
The family of the victim has identified him as Marcell Yanders, a student at BPS 18, the Dr. Antonia Pantoja Community School of Academic Excellence.
On Wednesday, his family visited the scene of the accident, seeking answers. They're doing this on what would've been his 13th birthday.
"All he wanted to do was play with his Legos and have his party today I'm hurting, I just want justice for my baby," said Chanel Everhart, Marcell's mother.
Buffalo Police say the crash happened Tuesday just before 4 p.m. and that Marcell was hit by a driver in a pickup truck on Hampshire Street near Albany Street.
Police won't say how Marcell was on the road, but they do say the driver is cooperating with police and that they're conducting a full investigation.
"Our accident investigators have the vehicle, they'll examine electronically, examine the vehicle, we have video of the accident and we're getting more video," said Deputy Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia of Buffalo Police.
Some community activists are demanding answers from police as well.
"We need to see what the cameras are saying, we need to know what happened and we need anybody that was a witness to come and let us know what happened," said Pastor Tim Newkirk of GYC Ministries.
2 On Your Side asked police whether there's any chance the driver was distracted?
"At this point both substances any impairment do not seem to be a contributing factor there was no detection of that," Gramaglia said.
Police say they are seeking the driver's cell phone records to see if he was distracted that way.
But, Marcell's family says they've had concerns about speed in this area.
"Don't nobody make a full stop out here at these stop signs, nobody you don't see no signs of 15 school limit, slow down no nothing around here," Everhart said.
Marcell's family also says they wanted him bussed to and from school but couldn't.
"I begged them not to make my son no walker, I begged these people I begged them and they still let him walk, I begged them, the school bus people, he shouldn't be a walker that's ten, eleven blocks to my house," Everhart said.
And now, they're faced with this devastating loss.
"You don't know what you took from me, he was sweet, sweet to the touch very polite he was just so sweet, so sweet so gentle," Everhart said.
The family has a lot of questions about crossing guards in that area whether they were out Tuesday or not.
2 On Your Side has questions on how traffic was handled near the school.
A spokesperson for Buffalo Public Schools didn't provide much detail as the investigation is on-going, but did tell 2 On Your Side there was in fact a crossing guard working in that area yesterday and that the guard alerted the school that a student had in fact been hit.
The district has reached out to Marcell's family and says crisis teams are now in place at Public School 18.