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No charges had been laid as of Thursday morning in connection with a collision that killed a seven-year-old London boy on his way home from school, with police saying their investigation was still ongoing.
On Thursday, police confirmed Dante Caranci, 7, had died of his injuries after being struck Monday afternoon by a vehicle while getting off the school bus in front of his home on Longwoods Road, east of Murray Road near Lambeth in southwest London. Caranci, who attended school in Delaware, died in hospital, police said.
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Dante was being remembered by relatives as a “kind-hearted soul,” his grandmother, Judy Madzia, told The Free Press in an interview on Wednesday. “Everybody loved Dante.”
In a brief statement, police said: “Our thoughts are with the family and all involved emergency personnel.”
Police are asking anyone who may have dashboard-camera footage or video surveillance near Longwoods Road at Murray Road between 3:45 p.m. and 4:05 p.m. on Dec. 16, or information that can help with the investigation, to contact them.
Anyone with information can call London police at (519) 661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
London police haven’t released many details of the crash that occurred just before 4 p.m. on Monday. But witnesses say it happened right in front of the boy’s home, where he lived with his parents and his nine-year-old brother.
Mike Heggarty, who lives in the area where the crash happened, said he saw a school bus, parked on Longwoods Road pointed east, into Lambeth, and that the boy and his family lived on the opposite side of the street, meaning he needed to cross the busy road to get to his home.
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Meanwhile, a fundraiser launched in support of the family had raised more than $128,000 as of mid-morning on Thursday as Londoners took to social media to express sorrow and shock over the death.
“I am extremely heartbroken by this (tragedy),” read a post on the GoFundMe page set up for the Caranci family. “I am so sorry for your loss and sending my deepest condolences to you and your family. Something has to be done; this should be very preventable, and every child should come home safe from school.”
Wrote another person on social media: “Our Delaware community is grieving after many of our community children lost a good friend in seven-year-old Dante. Unimaginable time for this family.”
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