14-year-old Wappingers Falls boy fatally struck while riding bicycle

The Wappingers Junior High School eighth grader was a New York Giants fan, and the team reportedly donated a signed helmet and flowers to the family.

Blaise Gomez

Aug 19, 2024, 4:23 PM

Updated 23 days ago

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The Wappingers Falls community is rallying to support the grieving family of a teenage boy who was killed this month while riding his bicycle.
Jac Cortes, 14, was hit by a pick-up truck Aug. 8, at approximately 4:45 p.m., on Vassar Road in Poughkeepsie, according to town police.
A GoFundMe for the family raised more than $30,000 in the days since the tragedy.
The Wappingers Junior High School eighth grader was a New York Giants fan, and the team reportedly donated a signed helmet and flowers to the family.
"It's our understanding that Jac was looking forward to joining the Modified Football Team," says superintendent of schools Dr. Dwight Bonk. "{We} are deeply saddened by the sudden loss of a young man who had such a bright future. Please keep the Cortes family in your thoughts and prayers during this most difficult time."
Police say a 60-year-old Town of Poughkeepsie resident struck the teen while operating a Dodge Ram traveling south. They say Cortes was facing traffic when his bicycle and the vehicle collided.
The deadly accident remains under investigation.