Jersey City, NJ — A quiet Friday afternoon in Jersey City turned into a scene of heartbreak on Friday as six-year-old Eli Bender was fatally struck by a UPS truck while riding his bicycle alongside his father near Hamilton Park.
The tragic accident occurred around 4:00 p.m. at the intersection of Jersey Avenue and 6th Street, authorities confirmed. Witnesses say the boy was riding in the crosswalk when he was hit by the delivery truck, which remained at the scene for hours as investigators worked behind yellow police tape.
By 6:00 p.m., a somber crowd of neighbors, passersby, and UPS representatives gathered near the cordoned-off area, watching silently as detectives examined the site. A privacy tent was erected at the scene, and the brown UPS truck stood motionless on 6th Street.
One nearby resident, visibly shaken, identified Eli as her son’s friend. “Our kids were close. They played together all the time,” she said, pointing to a home on 7th Street where the boy’s family resides. “It’s just unimaginable.”
Emotions ran high as the community began to process the loss. A man, later identified as Eli’s father, approached a television news crew filming near the intersection and quietly pleaded, “Please stop. My son just died.”
Shortly afterward, the grieving father, holding the hand of a woman believed to be Eli’s mother, returned to their home. They were accompanied by a small group, including a police officer and a local priest, as mourners began arriving with flowers and candles.
No charges have been announced as of Friday evening, and the incident remains under investigation by Jersey City police. UPS officials stated they are cooperating fully with authorities.
Tributes to Eli began pouring in from friends, family, and local residents who remember him as a bright, cheerful child often seen riding his bike through the neighborhood.
Hamilton Park, usually a peaceful haven for families and children, was quiet in the hours following the crash—its silence marked by the weight of a tragedy that has shaken the entire community.