A Delaware family is mourning the death of their son after a dirt bike accident took his life.
Cody Kegelman, 14, and his 16-year-old friend Nick Schrader were riding their dirt bikes along an access road near Rt. 72 in Newark, Del. around 1:15 p.m. Monday when they collided nearly head-on, police say.
The teens were thrown from the bikes after the crash, according to police. Both teens were wearing helmets.
Authorities do not believe speed was a factor in the accident saying they might have been unable to see each other because of a hill crest.
"He said he'd be back in 10 minutes," Cody's father Thomas Kegelman told NBC Philadelphia. "It got to be about 15 minutes, I got worried, saw the helicopter up in the air, heard the ambulances and I immediately got in the van and came down here."
Cody, an 8th grade student at Gaugher Cobbs Middle School, was taken to Christiana Hospital and later pronounced dead. Nick was also taken to Christiana Hospital and remains in serious condition.
"I'll miss him…an awful lot," Thomas said fighting back tears.
Cody's older brother Michael says the 14-year-old loved his riding his Yamaha.
"He bugged my dad for a new bike for the longest time and when he finally got the bike he was the happiest kid in the world," he said.
However, now, Thomas wants kids everywhere to take extra care when they take a seat on a dirt bike.
"They ought to be careful if they're out on dirt bikes," he said. "I will never ride one again."
Delaware State Police are continuing to investigate the accident.
