Grieving residents in the community of Manhattan pushed for road safety improvements after a 13-year-old boy was struck and killed by a semi while riding his bike.

“Your heart breaks for the family," neighbor Fred Harvey said. "This is a very tight knit community. I have kids who go to school with the boy who died and it’s just a tragedy.”

A memorial in the Will County community continued to grow for the eighth-grader student, with children tying ribbons, honoring a life cut short.

“My daughter has said he’s a really nice kid," Harvey stated. "She rode the bus with him, and he’s just a friendly, outgoing boy.”

Police said the collision happened at around 5:35 p.m. Monday evening at State and North streets. The boy was found unresponsive under the semi's trailer and later pronounced d

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