KEARNS, Utah — The family of Adam Mahamat, the 12-year-old Kearns killed while riding his bike to school last week, remains in mourning as they deal with his tragic loss.
“Nobody wants to send their kid to school, to not come back,” said Adam's uncle, Ahmed Isaak, on Monday.
Unfortunately, that's the exact situation Mahamat's family now faces
“He was going to school, crossing the street, he got hit by an SUV, no longer to see him here at all, we as a family are deeply concerned," Isaak said. "Deeply sad.”
As the family grieves, they're remembering what a special individual Adam was.
“Anyone who’s around this community, they know him," said Yscoub Arbab, president of the Massalit Community of Utah. "He was very great, he had a lot of friends, everybody knew him at school and there are many in pain at school,”
Family added that Adam was filled with ambition and dreams.
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“He always wanted to be a doctor, where he would be able to contribute to the community here in the United States and also his hometown where he’s from Sudan,” Isaak explained.
While Mahamat's family remains proud of the hard-working student he was, they are calling on city officials to take action for preventative measures so no other students or families suffer in the same way.
“If there’s a possibility of more law enforcement in the morning around the school and that’s, that’s what I would call a change,” added Isaak, who said there's no reason to lose someone to make that change.
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“We need to protect our young kids," said Arbab. "They have good dreams and they can help people. And when we lost that, it’s very painful for us.”
Isaak also hopes the new crossing guard temporarily placed where the accident occurred becomes permanent.
“We all share responsibility on the roads and we make sure that kids go to school and come home,” he said.
As they now deal with their grief, Adam's family is moving forward with his cheerful spirit in mind.
“Always positive thinking," shared Isaak, "and he believed that positivity made a difference and that’s how we remember him as a family.”
