Beloved 13-year-old killed in ‘freak accident' riding bike, WA family says
A 13-year-old boy was killed in a 'freak accident' while riding his bike in Washington, his family and police said.
Emiliano Munoz died May 5, three days after he ran into a braided cable strewn across a lot, according to the Everett Police Department and KOMO News.
Munoz had been playing with his friends nearby when he got on his electric bike and tried to take a shortcut through a field, KIRO reported.
He then struck the metal cable that had been hanging between a fence post and a traffic bollard, police said.
First responders got to the scene within three minutes and took him to a hospital in Seattle where he died days later, police said.
'It was a freak accident,' family friend Shantel Jenks told KIRO news.
The homeowner where the cable was strewn told KOMO News the wire had been there for years and was installed by someone else.
The cable has since been taken down, police said.
'He was a boy loved by everyone,' one of his uncles, Armando Molina, told KIRO.
'He was a beloved student at Explorer Middle School, known for his warm spirit and kind smile. He was a true friend to many & will never be forgotten,' someone wrote in a GoFundMe post.
Everett is about a 30-mile drive north from Seattle.
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