Boy wearing 'heelies' hit, killed

EAST BRIDGEWATER -- Cindy Carmichael watched from the window of her Washington Street home yesterday morning as her 12-year-old son, Ryan, zoomed across the two-lane road to the family mailbox wearing his ''heelies" -- sneakers with wheels in the heels.

She looked away for a moment and seconds later, when she glanced out the window again, she saw mail flying through the air. She rushed outside to find her son's crumpled body on the side of the road where he had fallen after being hit by a car whose driver apparently never saw the sixth-grader, according to Carmichael's sister and East Bridgewater police.

The driver, identified by authorities as 44-year-old Susan J. Smith of Middleborough, stopped immediately after the 7:40 a.m. accident, police said.

A school bus carrying four of Ryan's fellow students at the Gordon W. Mitchell Middle School was on Washington Street at the time of the crash -- and was headed to pick up Ryan. Authorities said the driver saw the crash, but none of the students did. The students, however, did see the accident scene, and counseling was made available to them.

East Bridgewater firefighters placed Ryan into an ambulance with his mother at his side. He was taken to Brockton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later, his family said.

At the hospital, Ryan Carmichael's extended family gathered around him, according to his aunt, Pamela Maceachern of Attleboro, who spoke on behalf of the family.

''We all had the opportunity to say goodbye to him," Maceachern said as she stood outside the Washington Street house. ''Cindy got to be with him so he wasn't alone."

Maceachern -- who is Cindy Carmichael's sister -- said that as they prayed for Ryan, Cindy Carmichael insisted they also pray for Smith, the driver, because she believes it was an accident.

''My sister has a very big heart that way," said Maceachern, who said Ryan leaves an older brother, Jared, a stepsister, Tabitha Doniger, and a stepfather, Brian Doniger.

A State Police accident reconstruction team is investigating, but East Bridgewater police said preliminary indications are that it was an accident.

Speed is not believed to be a factor, police said.

Sergeant Steven A. Brown said it was possible that neither Smith nor Ryan saw each other.

Smith was driving north on the road near its intersection with Pond Street.

There are no sidewalks on Washington Street.

Her view of the mailbox -- less than 3 feet from the edge of the road -- was obscured by a traffic sign and a telephone pole while Ryan's line of sight was blocked by the same objects, Brown said.

''It appears to have been an unfortunate accident," he said, while stressing the investigation was continuing.

No charges have been filed against Smith, who works in an East Bridgewater bank and was described by police officials who saw her after the crash as being devastated.

Smith could not be reached for comment. A man who answered the phone at her home in Middleborough said the family would not have any comment.

According to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, Smith was involved in two crashes in the early 1980s, but has not had any traffic violations in the two decades since those events.

Brown said police will also investigate whether Carmichael's footgear was a factor. Known as heelies, the sneakers have wheels in the heel that allow wearers to glide when they want to. The sneakers have been banned by many school districts around the nation due to safety concerns.

Relatives said Ryan was wearing his pair at the time. ''He did like his heelies," Maceachern said.

At Ryan's school, principal Allen Duarte and guidance counselors went from classroom to classroom informing the students about the sixth-grader's death.

A letter to parents was sent home to students in the district, officials said.

The school will hold classes as scheduled today, officials said.

''He was a very well-liked young boy," Duarte said.

Maceachern said her nephew was interested in science and loved to build things with his hands. He would have turned 13 in May, she said.

''He was loved very much, and he will be sorely missed by all of us," said Maceachern. ''You just don't know what the day will bring. Unfortunately."

John Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com.