An 11-year-old Connecticut boy was riding his bicycle along the same road as a school bus Wednesday morning when both reached an intersection less than a mile from his school.
Torren O’Grady was a sixth grader at North Stonington Elementary School. Classes had been back in session for only a few days.
The first reports from the scene offered little explanation for how a bicycle and school bus had ended up together in a fatal crash. Photos showed the bus stopped on the road with emergency vehicles nearby.
Connecticut State Police have since released a more detailed account of the moments before Torren was killed.
The Left Turn
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The collision happened at about 8:27 a.m. on Sept. 2 in North Stonington, according to Connecticut State Police.
Torren was riding east on Old Colony Road behind a Blue Bird school bus traveling in the same direction.
The bus stopped at the intersection with Pinecrest Road and began turning left onto Pinecrest.
Torren then collided with the bus’s left-front wheel. State police described what followed as a “run-over event.”
He suffered fatal injuries.
That sequence answers the question that was missing from the earliest coverage. Torren was not described as a pedestrian crossing in front of the bus, nor does the state police account say the bus left the road before hitting him. He and the bus had been traveling in the same direction immediately before the turn.
The crash report does not assign responsibility for the collision.
Five Days In
The timing made an already devastating event particularly difficult for the small school community.
Students had been back in class for only five days, NBC Connecticut reported.
North Stonington Public Schools dismissed students early Wednesday and made counselors and emotional-support dogs available. Torren had been scheduled to attend North Stonington Elementary School as a sixth grader.
The district said the crash happened before the beginning of the school day and within a mile of campus.
Torren also played youth lacrosse with the Stonington Bears. The organization said its immediate focus was supporting his family and that there would be time later to determine how the lacrosse community would remember him.
The Congregational Church of North Stonington opened its doors Wednesday for people who wanted a place to gather, mourn or pray.
Still Looking
State police identified the school-bus driver in their report as a 76-year-old Stonington man.
No charges had been announced Wednesday.
NBC Connecticut contacted M&J Bus Inc., which operates the bus, and reported that the company declined to comment.
The state police investigation remains active. Troopers are asking anyone who witnessed the collision, has information about it or possesses video showing what happened to contact Connecticut State Police Troop E at 860-848-6500.