Inside Rawlins Family Church on Sunday afternoon, worshippers paused when the sound of blaring sirens rushed toward East State Street.
No one inside knew exactly what had happened.
But Michelle Greer said she knew it was serious.
"We started hearing police cars," Greer told Cowboy State Daily. "Then I stepped outside."
Emergency vehicles from surrounded the intersection where a small bicycle lay twisted on the pavement. Nearby, a black tarp answered everyone's immediate question.
"I was devastated," Greer said. "I work at the school, and I knew it was one of our kids. My heart was just so broken all day yesterday. I just couldn't even really function."
A Town Stops
The Rawlins Police Department confirmed an 8-year-old boy died Sunday after a collision involving a bicycle and a vehicle around 12:21 p.m. near East State Street and Jefferson Avenue.
Officers from the Rawlins Fire Department, Carbon County Sheriff's Office, Carbon County EMS and the Wyoming Highway Patrol also responded.
A preliminary Wyoming Highway Patrol report says the boy was riding north on Jefferson Street when he possibly failed to stop at a posted stop sign before entering the intersection with East State Street. A Ram 2500 traveling east on State Street struck the child.
Investigators reported the roads were dry, the weather was clear, and the pickup driver was not injured.
The crash remains under investigation and authorities have not released additional details.
For Greer, the facts mattered less in the immediate aftermath than the overwhelming sense of loss.
As emergency crews worked, people gathered quietly nearby.
"They were coming down. They were standing on the street," she said.
Roads around the scene were blocked for hours while investigators documented what happened.
'Happy-Go-Lucky'
The crash happened in an area where children are a common sight.
"State Street is pretty busy," Greer said. "Jefferson is not, but there's a park right behind our church, so there's always kids at the park."
Only a week earlier, Greer had watched neighborhood children laughing together during a family event at that same spot.
The child who died was among them.
"He was there all day playing with all the kids," she recalled. "He was just happy-go-lucky, and he just had a great time the whole day."
That memory has replayed in her mind ever since.
'We're Praying For Them'
Greer is also a mother.
Her daughter recently turned 18, and her son is 30. She said thinking about the victim's parents has been almost unbearable.
"Oh my gosh," she said. "I can't even imagine that phone call."
She said members of Rawlins Family Church are praying for the family and want them to know they are ready to help however they can.
"Our hearts go out to them," she said. "We're praying for them, and our church is there if they need any help or counseling."
As police continue investigating what led to Sunday's tragedy, Greer hopes at least one lesson reaches other families.
Watching children ride bicycles and scooters through town has always made her nervous.
Now, she says, it carries a different weight.
"It can be gone so fast," she said.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
