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FROM STAFF REPORTS

BUCHANAN DAM — A 12-year-old Burnet Middle School student died March 18 after a car struck him and the small motorbike he was riding on Texas 261.

Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Robbie Barrera said Marcus Mendell of Buchanan Dam died from his injuries after the accident.

According to the DPS, Timothy Gardner, 56, of Buchanan Dam was heading north on Texas 261 in a 1997 Lincoln Continental and saw the 12-year-old traveling in the same direction on the shoulder of the highway.

The driver told troopers that he glanced to look at the volunteer fire department building on the west side of the highway, and, when he looked back at the road, the boy and motorbike were directly in front of him, Barrera said.

“He said he couldn’t avoid the boy,” Barrera said.

The accident occurred at 8:08 p.m.

Barrera said no charges had been filed as of March 19, but troopers are still investigating the accident.

editor@thepicayune.com