The town of Roxbury has set up a fund to help the family of an 11-year-old boy who was killed in an ATV accident on Thursday.
State police said the boy, Joseph "Joey" Awlasewicz, went for a short ATV ride on trails near his home and never returned.
Search crews began looking for him in the Carriage Lane area after his mother reported him missing around 3 p.m. Thursday, police said.
State police units, the state police helicopter, K-9 officers and people on ATVs canvassed the area. Joey was found dead just before 8 p.m. near 76 Carriage Lane.
Police said he had gone off the road and down an embankment.
"This young man was an experienced rider," said state police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance. "It was not uncommon for him to ride on trails near his home."
School officials said Joey went to the Booth Free School and completed fifth grade on Wednesday.
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Grief counselors will be at his school and at town hall today to support his mourning classmates.
"Everyone is just stunned," said Roxbury First Selectwoman Barbara Henry.
This is the second fatal ATV crash in Connecticut this week.
A 19-year-old Ellington High School graduate was killed while riding an ATV at his family farm in Suffield on Wednesday.
You can donate to Joey's memorial fund here.
