Thomas Berry.Photo:Tara Wright-Berry/FacebookAn 8-year-old Texas boy riding in a truck with his mother on Friday afternoon was killed in an accident after a truck allegedly blew a stop sign at an intersection, striking the vehicle carrying the child.The boy, Thomas Berry, was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital in Dallas while his mother, 48-year-old Tara Lynn Wright-Berry, was taken to a local hospital in Canton, Texas, with non-life-threatening injuries.Police say the accident happened 11 miles southwest of Canton and that the driver of the other truck, Miguel Castro-Govea, 31, was arrested for allegedly causing the crash. He was first taken to the same Canton hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.The driver was charged with criminal negligent homicide and is being held in the Van Zandt County Jail, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. It’s not immediately clear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney.Both vehicles were 2017 pickup trucks, say authorities.Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.Meanwhile, the Berry family is mourning the loss of a son they say loved baseball.“Thomas was on the Canton Astros coach pitch baseball team,” the family said in a GoFundMe page, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars in recent days to aid the family. “He was excited to play on the team because his favorite color was orange. He loved playing with his teammates and had found a new spot as the Astros catcher.”Tara said her son “was so excited about baseball this year that he even slept in his hat and jersey some nights,” according to the fundraiser page, which noted the crash took place near the family’s home.Jenny Wells-Fain, who helped coach Thomas’ team and launched the GoFundMe to support the family, tells PEOPLE she remembers Thomas “had a great attitude about everything.”He was also brave, his coach says, recalling a time when the team needed someone to play catcher last-minute: “Thomas threw his hand up and said, ‘I would like to do it!’ “ she remembers.“He always had a positive attitude and he was the ultra caring type of kid,” Wells-Fain says. “Always very funny, but just very sweet to everybody.”Thomas’ team played their first game without him Monday night, which Wells-Fain says became more of a “beautiful tribute” than a usual little league game. The team hung Thomas’ jersey up in the dugout, while one of his two older sisters led the group around the bases so he could symbolically score the team’s first run. Before the game, Wells-Fain says their opponents walked over each carrying an orange rose – the color of Thomas’ Canton Astros team – and the kids shared memories about him before the first pitch.“It wasn’t just our team that was affected,” she says. “This is a small community where everybody on every team knew him. There’s only one elementary school in Canton, Texas, so all of those kids are going to the same school, so there’s a lot of players on the other teams that were very close friends with Thomas. It affected our community as a whole.”The community has stepped up to help the family too, with many neighbors dropping off groceries and household supplies.The Canton Youth Recreation Association said on Facebook that it will host a benefit baseball tournament in June, with “only one goal and that is to raise as much money to help the Berry family in a time that we wish on no one.”Police say an investigation into the crash is still ongoing. It was a cloudy day, but road conditions were listed as dry, according to the Texas Department of Safety report. Both Thomas and his mother were wearing their seatbelts, the report says.A funeral for Thomas will be held Sunday in Canton.
Thomas Berry.Photo:Tara Wright-Berry/Facebook
Tara Wright-Berry/Facebook
An 8-year-old Texas boy riding in a truck with his mother on Friday afternoon was killed in an accident after a truck allegedly blew a stop sign at an intersection, striking the vehicle carrying the child.The boy, Thomas Berry, was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital in Dallas while his mother, 48-year-old Tara Lynn Wright-Berry, was taken to a local hospital in Canton, Texas, with non-life-threatening injuries.Police say the accident happened 11 miles southwest of Canton and that the driver of the other truck, Miguel Castro-Govea, 31, was arrested for allegedly causing the crash. He was first taken to the same Canton hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.The driver was charged with criminal negligent homicide and is being held in the Van Zandt County Jail, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. It’s not immediately clear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney.Both vehicles were 2017 pickup trucks, say authorities.Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.Meanwhile, the Berry family is mourning the loss of a son they say loved baseball.“Thomas was on the Canton Astros coach pitch baseball team,” the family said in a GoFundMe page, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars in recent days to aid the family. “He was excited to play on the team because his favorite color was orange. He loved playing with his teammates and had found a new spot as the Astros catcher.”Tara said her son “was so excited about baseball this year that he even slept in his hat and jersey some nights,” according to the fundraiser page, which noted the crash took place near the family’s home.Jenny Wells-Fain, who helped coach Thomas’ team and launched the GoFundMe to support the family, tells PEOPLE she remembers Thomas “had a great attitude about everything.”He was also brave, his coach says, recalling a time when the team needed someone to play catcher last-minute: “Thomas threw his hand up and said, ‘I would like to do it!’ “ she remembers.“He always had a positive attitude and he was the ultra caring type of kid,” Wells-Fain says. “Always very funny, but just very sweet to everybody.”Thomas’ team played their first game without him Monday night, which Wells-Fain says became more of a “beautiful tribute” than a usual little league game. The team hung Thomas’ jersey up in the dugout, while one of his two older sisters led the group around the bases so he could symbolically score the team’s first run. Before the game, Wells-Fain says their opponents walked over each carrying an orange rose – the color of Thomas’ Canton Astros team – and the kids shared memories about him before the first pitch.“It wasn’t just our team that was affected,” she says. “This is a small community where everybody on every team knew him. There’s only one elementary school in Canton, Texas, so all of those kids are going to the same school, so there’s a lot of players on the other teams that were very close friends with Thomas. It affected our community as a whole.”The community has stepped up to help the family too, with many neighbors dropping off groceries and household supplies.The Canton Youth Recreation Association said on Facebook that it will host a benefit baseball tournament in June, with “only one goal and that is to raise as much money to help the Berry family in a time that we wish on no one.”Police say an investigation into the crash is still ongoing. It was a cloudy day, but road conditions were listed as dry, according to the Texas Department of Safety report. Both Thomas and his mother were wearing their seatbelts, the report says.A funeral for Thomas will be held Sunday in Canton.
An 8-year-old Texas boy riding in a truck with his mother on Friday afternoon was killed in an accident after a truck allegedly blew a stop sign at an intersection, striking the vehicle carrying the child.
The boy, Thomas Berry, was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital in Dallas while his mother, 48-year-old Tara Lynn Wright-Berry, was taken to a local hospital in Canton, Texas, with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police say the accident happened 11 miles southwest of Canton and that the driver of the other truck, Miguel Castro-Govea, 31, was arrested for allegedly causing the crash. He was first taken to the same Canton hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver was charged with criminal negligent homicide and is being held in the Van Zandt County Jail, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. It’s not immediately clear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney.
Both vehicles were 2017 pickup trucks, say authorities.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
Meanwhile, the Berry family is mourning the loss of a son they say loved baseball.
“Thomas was on the Canton Astros coach pitch baseball team,” the family said in a GoFundMe page, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars in recent days to aid the family. “He was excited to play on the team because his favorite color was orange. He loved playing with his teammates and had found a new spot as the Astros catcher.”
Tara said her son “was so excited about baseball this year that he even slept in his hat and jersey some nights,” according to the fundraiser page, which noted the crash took place near the family’s home.
Jenny Wells-Fain, who helped coach Thomas’ team and launched the GoFundMe to support the family, tells PEOPLE she remembers Thomas “had a great attitude about everything.”
He was also brave, his coach says, recalling a time when the team needed someone to play catcher last-minute: “Thomas threw his hand up and said, ‘I would like to do it!’ “ she remembers.
“He always had a positive attitude and he was the ultra caring type of kid,” Wells-Fain says. “Always very funny, but just very sweet to everybody.”
Thomas’ team played their first game without him Monday night, which Wells-Fain says became more of a “beautiful tribute” than a usual little league game. The team hung Thomas’ jersey up in the dugout, while one of his two older sisters led the group around the bases so he could symbolically score the team’s first run. Before the game, Wells-Fain says their opponents walked over each carrying an orange rose – the color of Thomas’ Canton Astros team – and the kids shared memories about him before the first pitch.
“It wasn’t just our team that was affected,” she says. “This is a small community where everybody on every team knew him. There’s only one elementary school in Canton, Texas, so all of those kids are going to the same school, so there’s a lot of players on the other teams that were very close friends with Thomas. It affected our community as a whole.”
The community has stepped up to help the family too, with many neighbors dropping off groceries and household supplies.
The Canton Youth Recreation Association said on Facebook that it will host a benefit baseball tournament in June, with “only one goal and that is to raise as much money to help the Berry family in a time that we wish on no one.”
Police say an investigation into the crash is still ongoing. It was a cloudy day, but road conditions were listed as dry, according to the Texas Department of Safety report. Both Thomas and his mother were wearing their seatbelts, the report says.
A funeral for Thomas will be held Sunday in Canton.
source: people.com
