A nine-year-old was killed in an accident when she fell off her bicycle on her birthday, Sept. 17, according to multiple reports.
Charlene “Charlie” Sipes was riding her bike in the evening of Sept. 17 near her home in Hodgenville, Kentucky, when she hit a curb on the street, wrecking her bike in the process. However, disaster happened when she fell off her bike and the bike’s handlebar ended up severing an artery in Sipes’s neck, according to LaRue County Coroner, PEOPLE reported.
Sipes’s mother, Tiffany Fischer, found her daughter outside and carried the nine-year-old 200 feet back home, but Sipes did not survive her neck injury and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to WDRB.
“This isn’t supposed to be real. It’s supposed to be a dream. I’m going to wake up and it’s all a nightmare,” Fischer wrote on a Facebook post. “She was so funny. She loved to laugh. She loved to make other people laugh. She had the stars in her eyes and such big dreams. Big big dreams.”
Fischer expressed her devastation on Facebook by adding, “It was her 9th birthday. We got to experience life with Charlie for nine years exactly. Nine short years. My baby. My little girl. I have never been so broken in my life.”
Her passing had a deep impact on the community around her, as well as the students and staff at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School. In the wake of the incident, counsellors were made available for students, the staff, and the family at the school, according to WDRB.
The principal of the school, Cystal Wilkerson, released a statement regarding Sikes’s death, which read, “Charlie was a charming, caring student who was loved by her teachers and her peers. This is a terrible loss for everyone who knew her. Our crisis team has arranged resources and support for our students, staff, and families as we cope with this loss. We ask that members of the community keep the Sipes family, as well as the teachers and students who are grieving, close to your heart.”
A GoFundMe page was created in Sikes’s honor, started by Fischer’s friend, Lisa Deweese. At this time, more than $13,000 has been raised after the initial $2,000 goal, according to the website.
Charlie celebrated her 9th birthday yesterday. It’s obvious she lived in a home full of love just from all the proud pictures her family would post. I worked with Charlie’s dad, John, and he would tell me about how much they prepared for her birthdays and Christmas. He would take pictures of all her gifts and proudly show them off to me. Charlie spent her last day on earth celebrating her 9th birthday. I know it was a day filled with love.”
According to the GoFundMe page, Sikes’s family held a memorial service. Fischer against posted on a Facebook regarding her daughter’s burial service.
“I will say my final goodbyes to my best friend,” Fischer wrote. “To my little girl. My family will say goodbye to one of the brightest lights in all our our lives.”