A candlelight vigil will be held for 12 year-old Josiah Grant-Cendeno who was tragically struck and killed on Rt 13 and Beaver Dam Road in Bristol Township last weekend, it was announced Wednesday.
Originally scheduled to be a “balloon release”, community organizers decided, in light of several citizens concerned for the health and welfare of birds and the overall impact it can have on the surrounding environment, to go with a candlelight observance instead. It will take placed in the Venice Ashby section of the township -5401 Beaver Dam Road.
For hours on the Lower Bucks Source Meta Page comments for and against the planned balloon release raged for hours. For the first time in this reporters 14 years of using social media to inform the public on news and happenings in the Philadelphia region, comments had to be shutdown.
As recently as last year, according to CBS News, state lawmakers tried to ban community balloo0n releases in Pennsylvania (*More on this later). The Bill penned by state officials out of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh)* “died at the finish line.
A family related source who asked not to be identified said the Grant-Cedeno family supported a community based memorial observance for Josiah, but they were not involved in organizing the event to celebrate, remember, and honor his life. His death with no one reason or cause to explain or blame for it, a commenter said in a private message exchange.
You can’t explain what’s experienced as unexplainable- a 12-year-old child killed in what appears to be an accident rocks the axis of every thinking, feeling human being, the commenter, who asked not to be identified, said.
“A community is grieving together, yet in separate silos and in each their own ways” so of course there will be differences on how to “properly grieve.”
*******Rescheduled as a Candle Light Vigil***********
Also yesterday, Lower Bucks Source learned funeral services/visitation and burial will be the 13th and 14th of September. To date (Thursday 5:50 a.m.) 312 donations totaling just under $20,000 have been made but challenge for the family remains remains the costs, “… to lay him to rest properly,” the family related source said.
Lower Bucks Source also learned yesterday, it could be a while before an investigative determination is made by Bristol Twp Police.
At this time, the crash on Rt 13 remains under investigation by our “accident team in conjunction with the District Attorney’s Office for at least the next few weeks if not months,” Sgt Jason Mancuso said.