Jordan Hale, 8 killed, Jesus “Chewy” Gutiérrez, 6, critically injured after they are struck by a van while skateboarding on Northwest Winn Street in Kansas City, Missouri

Heartbroken family members are remembering an eight-year-old Kansas City boy tragically killed while playing outside his home on Saturday. Jordan Hale died after getting hit by a van over the weekend near Northeast Winn and North Bellefontaine. Saturday night Hale’s dreams were suddenly cut short. Police say the second grader and his six-year-old best friend, Jesus “Chewy” Gutiérrez, were riding on their skateboards downhill, outside Hale’s Kansas City home, when a van hit both boys. Hale died instantly. His friend was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries, including head trauma. “The ball rolled down the hill and he went down the hill and the lady hit him. She’s an elderly lady. The officer said she was 87,” said a family member about the woman driving the van which struck her nephew. Angie Marcus, Hale’s cousin, is have a hard time coping with the news. “It’s unimaginable to be told the words of ‘an eight- year-old has been killed by an accident.’ It was very hard,” said Marcus. Funeral arrangements for Hale have not yet been announced, but his family does plan to hold a candlelight vigil on Wednesday. On Monday, Gutiérrez was still in the hospital in critical yet stable condition. People living in the neighborhood near North Bellefontaine and Northeast Winn say sidewalks could have made the difference in this accident. Neighbors say they need the sidewalks so people don’t have to walk and play in the streets. They say kids even have to wait in the street to catch the bus to school in the morning. Kansas City Public Works surveyed and reviewed the area just two weeks ago. At this point, they haven’t decided if they’re going to put in sidewalks or not.