FAIRVIEW TWP., Pa. - Family members of 6-year-old Bryce Treichler say they want him remembered in the way he was in a picture given to reporters Wednesday: a fun-loving kid who liked to put a scare into his family, but loved to make them laugh.
Speaking to FOX43 off-camera Wednesday, they said it will take a long time to get over what happened Tuesday, when Treichler lost control of a mini-dirtbike in the yard and ended up on Interstate 83, where he was hit by the driver of a pickup truck and killed.
"When the child came off the hill, it was basically a split second reaction," Tpr. Brett Miller of the State Police said. "There were some skid marks at the scene, but the pickup truck driver had no choice."
Bryce had just completed first grade at Hillside Elementary School in New Cumberland. He loved his dirt bike, which still had training wheels on it.
"The child was riding on his own property," Miller said. "Unfortunately, the child did not have any safety equipment on, meaning a helmet, pads, etc."
One question that has emerged is why there is not some sort of fence or wall between the highway and the property on Lincoln Drive where Treichler's family lives, but such a wall would be the responsibility of the property owner, according to PennDOT officials.
"If you have maybe an issue with children, or you have pets, put up some kind of fencing to protect your family, but it's not on PennDOT to put up that right of way it's simply right of way fencing," said Fritzi Schreffler with PennDOT.
Nevertheless, officials questioned whether a barrier could have prevented what family and police are calling a tragic accident.
"If you had jersey barrier at the bottom, a rock might slide down, but a larger object could vault over it into the highway anyhow, so there's no guarantee that something like that would keep somebody from going over," Schreffler said.
A memorial fund has been established in Treichler's honor for his final expenses.