Bendigo, Australia – A tragic morning turned into heartbreak for an entire community after 15-year-old Thom Hosking was struck and killed by a truck while walking to school.
The accident happened just after 8:30 a.m. near High Street and Myrtle Street, close to Girton Grammar School, where Thom was a beloved student. Witnesses rushed to help, performing CPR before paramedics arrived — but despite every effort, he could not be saved.
When police and emergency crews reached him, they noticed something that brought many to tears — Thom was still holding his school backpack strap tightly in his hand, as if he was still trying to make it to class, still thinking about an ordinary school day that would never come.
His family later said Thom was “the glue of our family — calm, caring, and always gentle.”
He was just days away from starting his first part-time job and had recently performed in his school’s musical, Mamma Mia.
In a heartbreaking statement, his parents, Andrew and Kim, said:
“He is gone, and we know he’s not coming back. The pain is impossible to describe. But we are so proud of the boy he was — warm, loving, and full of life.”
The Bendigo community has since flooded social media with tributes, flowers, and prayers at the crash site — honoring a young life lost too soon.