A girl in Kentucky has died after a brake lever on her bike’s handlebars severed an artery in her neck after she hit a kerb while riding her bike on Tuesday, her ninth birthday.
A friend of the family of Charlene Preslee-Kay Sipes have set up a GoFundMe page in her memory, reports the Courier Journal.
LaRue County Sheriff Russel McCoy said the youngster, who was pronounced dead at the scene, had been the victim of a “freak accident.”
Writing on Facebook, her mother, Tiffany Fischer, wrote: "This is isn't supposed to be real. It's supposed to be a dream. I’m going to wake up and it's all a nightmare.
"My beautiful baby. My smart and loving and funny baby.
"She was so funny,” she added. “She loved to laugh. She loved to make other people laugh. She had the stars in her eyes and such big dreams. Big, big dreams."
So far, the GoFundMe ‘In Memory of Charlie’ which was set up by family friend Lisa Dewsee has raised more than $12,000 against a target of $2,000.
Dewsee said: "I can't imagine losing a child. I just wanted to help in any way I could."
After the funeral on Saturday, she added: “Yesterday we said goodbye. The gathering couldn’t have been more beautiful. Charlie was surrounded by hundreds of flowers and wind chimes and so many friends and family who love her. It was an honor to be there.”
It's the second freak incident we have reported on in the past year or so in which a child in the US has lost their life while riding their bike.
In August last year, six-year-old Denny Curran died in Washington State after becoming impaled on his bike's handlebar, with reports suggesting that the rubber grip had worn through and that there were no plugs on the end of the bars.
Simon has been news editor at road.cc since 2009, reporting on 10 editions and counting of pro cycling’s biggest races such as the Tour de France, stories on issues including infrastructure and campaigning, and interviewing some of the biggest names in cycling. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, his background has proved invaluable in reporting on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, and the bike industry. He splits his time between London and Cambridge, and loves taking his miniature schnauzer Elodie on adventures in the basket of her Elephant Bike.