Claire Sherwood has the latest on South Island news.
Video / Herald NOW
The family of an “amazingly kind” young boy who died after being run over on a Canterbury rural road is fundraising to start a scholarship in his name.
AGivealittle page has been set up to support the family as they “grieve the loss of their beautiful son” and to create a scholarship fund in his memory.
As of Monday morning, the page had raised $3240.
“Alex was a beautiful, clever, and amazingly kind boy,” the fundraiser’s organiser said in a LinkedIn post.
Alex is described as having a love of science and the popular video game Minecraft.
Alexander Bennett. Photo / Givealittle
Springston School, which teaches Year 1–8 students, last week confirmed that Alex was one of its pupils, saying there had been “a tragic passing of a student from our school”.
Today, the school shared a statement on behalf of his family to Facebook, inviting the school community to “join them in a celebration of Alex’s life”.
“The family would be deeply touched to have those who knew and loved Alex gather together to share memories, find comfort in one another, and honour the joy he brought to our lives,” the post read.
“The family has expressed their gratitude for the incredible outpouring of love and support from our school whānau.
“This is a time to stand together and reflect on the beautiful light that Alex was in our kura.
“As we navigate this time together, please remember to hold each other close and reach out if you or your tamariki need extra support.”
Police said today there was no further information that could be provided while the investigation was ongoing.
Earlier they said the child died at the scene despite the best efforts of emergency services.
