Candy store owner remembers 13-year-old boy killed on bike after leaving shop
Cozmic Candy Shop owner Robert Wyant said when he opened his store in Buffalo Township about a year and a half ago, Dylan Tarbi, 13, instantly became a regular.
“He always got freeze-dried candy. That’s what I remember,” said Wyant. “They would always get a different bag.”
Wyant got to know Tarbi pretty well.
“He was just a good kid,” Wyant said. “He wasn’t shy. He had confidence. He looked like a go-getter and from what I understand his nickname was Turbo.”
Dylan and his friend, who is also 13, stopped at the shop to buy some candy Friday evening, just before they were both hit by a pickup truck.
Wyant was cashing them out.
“They’re nice kids. I could tell they come from a good family. They’re very polite,” Wyant said. “I know when they left here, they were happy, and they said they didn’t know what they were doing for the weekend other than eating some candy.”
All that changed a short time later about half a mile away.
Police said the two 13-year-old boys were riding their bikes home when they were hit by a pickup truck on Cole Road. The driver says he didn’t see them.
Katie Matson was taking the trash out when she saw all the first responders a few doors down.
“I saw a good maybe six to seven ambulances, fire trucks, a whole bunch of lights coming from over there and I saw them performing CPR on the boy,” Matson said. “I was shocked. I was watching very intensely.”
Police said Tarbi was flown to the hospital where he later died. His friend was not seriously hurt.
“It’s obviously a tragedy; it’s horrible,” said Katie Matson’s husband Nash Matson. “The fact that there was an accident here, I’m not surprised.”
Police said the crash happened around 7 p.m. on a sunny day. Investigators believe the sun was in the driver’s eyes when he hit the two boys as they were all traveling west.
Neighbors on Cole Road told Channel 11′s Antoinette DelBel that when that sun is setting, it’s blinding.
“It’s not the safest road, put simply,” Nash Matson said.
As for Wyant, he wants to help Tarbi’s family. He’d like to place a donation box on his candy shop counter.
“They supported us, so I want to be there to support them, plain and simple,” Wyant said. “They definitely won’t be forgotten around here.”
The driver stayed on scene and is not facing any charges at this time. Buffalo Township Police Chief Tim Derringer said he does not believe speed played a role in the crash but they’re still investigating.
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