The driver of the van has not been identified.
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“He was friendly, very smart, always wondering and discovering things”, said the Rev. Gabriela Garcia, pastor at Christ United Methodist Church in Lawrence.
He said the mother, Flor de Paz, and her son moved to Methuen just two months ago.
“That was the last conversation we had….”
Goodwin says her heart goes out to the mother.
The crash happened at around 7:30 a.m.at the corner of Berkeley Street and East Brook Place. The vehicle was then broadsided by a white Ford van traveling on Berkeley Street.
The van crashed through a fence and into a wall of the Meeting House Hill Cemetery, police said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the van, which is registered in New Hampshire, is cooperating with police.
De Paz was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
De Paz recalled the aftermath of the collision, saying, “I keep looking for Brian and he wasn’t there”. And his shoes over there.
“It’s hard ’cause I lost my son four years ago so I know what it is”, she said.
De Paz also said she usually makes sure her son wears a seat belt, but wasn’t sure if she did prior to the crash.
“Honestly, I wasn’t aware if he did or did not”.
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Investigators are now trying to determine if the boy was properly restrained.
