Boy who was struck, killed in crosswalk to be honored on Rose Parade float

A 12-year-old boy killed when he and his sister were struck by a pickup truck in a North Las Vegas crosswalk will be honored at this year’s Tournament of Roses parade after the donation of the youth’s organs, skin and bone helped more than 300 people across the globe.

A portrait created with floral materials, known as a floragraph, crafted in the image of Alexander Bush, who loved hockey, Pokemon, “Star Wars,” Legos, video games and helping others, will be on the Donate Life Rose Parade float in Pasadena, California, on Jan. 1, said his parents, Aaron and Jennifer Bush, formerly of North Las Vegas. The floragraph recognizes the medical donations of Alexander’s eyes and other organs as well as tissue, skin and bone grafts to help others.

This gift of life, Alexander’s parents said, has given them a glimmer of goodness stemming from a horrifying tragedy that also left their daughter, Charlotte, critically injured and disabled for life.

“He would be so proud to know his eyes are helping people in Egypt and Beirut to see more clearly,” Aaron Bush said. “He’d smile knowing his heart is beating in someone else’s chest. His kidneys and liver are helping other people to live longer and healthier lives than the ones they had previously when this generous gift came along.

“Even bone and tissue samples taken from Alex are bettering the lives of people from all over the Americas, from Canada to Chile,” his father added. “His gifts are helping people all over the world.”

Alexander was an avid hockey player and fan of the Vegas Golden Knights. Aaron Bush, speaking in a recent interview at the Knights’ practice facility in Summerlin, said if Alexander knew his donation would be so helpful to others, “he would beam with more pride than when he shut down someone’s clean breakaway shot in this net right out there on that ice.”

Advocates for strengthening laws

On Feb. 14, 2020, Alexander and his younger sister, Charlotte, then 9, were struck by a pickup as they walked home from school at Somerset Academy’s Losee Campus in North Las Vegas. Together, they were crossing Lone Mountain Road in a marked crosswalk near Losee Road when police said the truck’s driver, distracted by his phone, ran over the children.

“Pretty much everything that we knew and worked for is gone,” Jennifer Bush said.

Charlotte, now 11, requires 24-hour medical care.

The crash, North Las Vegas police said, was caused by Mark Kline. The then-47-year-old driver from North Las Vegas pleaded no contest in February to failure to use due care around a pedestrian, failure to pay full time and attention to driving, failure to maintain lane/improper lane change and vehicular manslaughter. His sentence included 120 days of house arrest, 60 days in jail suspended for no less than a year, about 200 hours of community service and more than $2,200 in fines and assessments. He was ordered to complete traffic safety school and complete a victim impact panel.

The devastation from the crash prompted Alexander and Charlotte’s parents to advocate for stronger punishments for distracted driving. In Nevada, a first offense for distracted driving carries a $50 fine. Vehicular manslaughter is a misdemeanor charge that carries a maximum penalty of up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000 for a first-time offender.

“I get angry when I see news stories and updates of the same thing happening, someone is driving distracted,” Jennifer Bush said in a Nov. 12 interview. “Looking at their phone. Not paying attention. Someobody gets hit. Somebody gets killed. Somebody gets permanently disabled and every time I see it I get angry and sad.”

Advocates for organ donation

The Bushes are also advocating for Nevadans to consider organ donation to help others through the Nevada Donor Network. Shortly after Alexander’s death, the parents were asked by the Nevada Donor Network to consider donating Alex’s eyes, other organs and tissue to help others.

The answer, they said, was an immediate yes.

“We didn’t have a choice in whether Alex lived or died,” Aaron Bush said. “The decision to donate Alex’s organs came easily to us because of the kind of kid Alex was. He loved to help people. He loved to make people feel good. You’d be hard-pressed to find an older brother who was so kind to his younger sister.”

During a Nov. 12 event at City National Arena, friends, family and teachers of Alex decorated the floragraph in Alex’s image while paying tribute to the child’s life. His former elementary school teacher, Kelly Good, participated in the decoration.

“It was an honor,” Good said. “To be here, to see Alex’s gift, and for him to be recognized.”

Joseph Ferreira, president of the Nevada Donor Network, said the floragraph in this year’s parade serves to “honor Alex’s legacy.”

“Although we will never be able take the pain away for this heroic family, what we can do is tell the world, through the Donate Life Rose Parade float, what an impact Alex made in his final hours,” Ferreira said.

Glenn Abercrombie, general manager of Palm Mortuary and Dignity Memorial, said the floragraph is also a way to tell Alex’s story.

“At the end of the day, it honors Alex and his gift of life,” Abercrombie said.

Anyone interested in learning more about organ donation can contact the Nevada Donor Network through its website.

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.