LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ/Gray News) – A family is mourning the loss of a 14-year-old boy following a deadly ATV accident in Kentucky.
The boy died Friday, according to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office.
A cross and flowers are now set up at the site where the crash happened.
The boy’s mother, Lisa Harper, said Eric Harper was riding alone on Brushy Creek Road near their home in Blaine on Friday evening when he lost control.
Lisa Harper said someone driving by later saw that a crash had occurred and told a neighbor to call 911.
Eric had been homeschooled for a couple years following the death of his older brother, Steven, according to his mother.
She said her son Eric was a big-hearted person.
Riding his ATV was Eric’s favorite thing to do, according to Lisa Harper. He rode them since he was a small child, and the site of the crash is an area where he has ridden many times.
Lisa Harper is now urging other parents to force their children to always wear helmets when riding. She said Eric did the majority of the time, but was not when the accident occurred.
“It just breaks my heart for his loved ones and friends,” Eric’s friend, Makenzie McDonald, said. “It hurts me to see them all like this.”
Visitation was scheduled for Monday evening at Wilson Funeral Home. The funeral will be there at noon Tuesday.
Eric will be buried next to his brother by the family’s home.
“You just got near him and felt good,” Eric’s friend, Julianne Moore, remembered. “He was such a funny person and had a good personality.”
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