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The community is rallying around the family of a 17-year-old West Babylon boy who was killed Tuesday afternoon when his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck on Main Street in Babylon.
Robert Buerkle was riding a 2003 Suzuki westbound just after 3 p.m. when he was struck by a 2022 Chevrolet pickup turning onto the eastbound lanes from Tappan Avenue, Suffolk County Police said.
Buerkle was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The driver of the pickup, 84-year-old Victor Hansen of Babylon, was not injured.
A GoFundMe campaign launched by Buerkle’s cousin, Samantha Tonn, raised more than $36,000 in its first 20 hours to support the boy’s mother and two siblings as they face what the family calls an “unimaginable loss.”
“It is with broken hearts that we share the sudden and tragic passing of RJ, our beloved cousin, son, brother, and friend,” Tonn wrote. “RJ was only 17 years old when his life was taken far too soon.”
She described Buerkle as “an extraordinary young man” who “lit up every room with his smile” and had a gift for making others feel seen and loved.
“If something was broken, RJ could fix it. If someone was hurting, RJ could make them laugh,” she wrote. “His presence was a gift to all of us, and the world is dimmer without him.”
Top photo: Investigators examine a motorcycle pinned under a pickup truck at the crash scene on Main Street in Babylon (Newsday/Paul Mazza), with an inset photo of 17-year-old Robert Buerkle (GoFundMe).
