“No parent should ever have to face a tragedy of this nature,” Mason Ryan Stiglich’s loved ones said in a GoFundMe

NEED TO KNOW

• Mason Ryan Stiglich, 15, died after being struck by a car while biking in Eagle River, Alaska
• Loved ones said Stiglich was passionate about bike safety and always wore proper gear
• “He was such a special kid,” family friend Casey Johnson said after the teen’s death

A community is mourning the loss of an Alaskan teen who recently died while biking with a friend.

Mason Ryan Stiglich died on Saturday, Aug. 15 in Eagle River after he succumbed to injuries from a Wednesday, Aug. 12, incident, according to a GoFundMe started on behalf of his family. He was 15 years old.

“This is every parent’s worst nightmare, right?” Casey Johnson, a family friend, told Alaska’s News Source on Monday, Aug. 17. “It’s truly hard to think about, as a parent myself. And I know that the rest of the community is feeling that way.”

The Anchorage Police Department said in a press release that they received a report of a bicyclist struck by a vehicle at around 8:13 p.m. on Wednesday.

A preliminary investigation indicated that a Toyota RAV4 was exiting a parking lot onto the Old Glenn Highway just as two bicyclists were riding northbound. 

Police did not name either of the cyclists, or the person operating the motor vehicle, but said that the driver of the Toyota struck one of the bicyclists. 

The victim, identified by police only as a “male juvenile bicyclist,” was then transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he later died on Saturday.

Authorities added that the driver remained on scene and cooperated with the investigation. 

Johnson, who worked with Stiglich’s dad at the Anchorage Fire Department, said the teen had a love for mountain biking and was an advocate for bike safety.

“I was talking to his mom about it last night and she said he just sort of recognized it himself,” Johnson said. “They’d be driving in the car and they’d drive by a kid on an e-bike and be like, ‘Mom, he’s not wearing the right helmet.’ ”

“He just obviously wanted kids to be able to go out and ride their bikes safely. And, it’s obviously terrible that he was riding a bike when this happened,” he continued. “He was really passionate about making sure other people knew, and that he was also setting that example and wearing the right equipment.”

Johnson said Stiglich was wearing all his safety gear at the time of the incident.

He added that a portion of the proceeds from the GoFundMe will go toward highlighting Stiglich’s advocacy for bike safety.

“You have just an amazing young man like that, right?” Johnson said. “Like 15 years old. It’s just too young. He was such a special kid. So to be able to, you know, take his legacy and the things that he was passionate about and — I mean, these are good causes, right?”

“To be able to take them and advance that, in his name and honor his legacy and who he was. That’s what would make it so special,” Johnson added.

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As of Tuesday, Aug. 18, the GoFundMe reached nearly $90,000, with funds allocated for the “unexpected and devastating event that no family could ever prepare for.”

“There are no words that can adequately describe the pain of losing a child,” the fundraiser description read. “No parent should ever have to face a tragedy of this nature, and no family should have to endure the heartbreak that Jared, Billie, and Caleb are now experiencing. The loss of Mason is unimaginable, and the days ahead will be incredibly difficult.”

No arrests have been made in connection to Stiglich’s death, the Anchorage Police Department previously said.

A celebration of life is planned for Stiglich on Aug. 22, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

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