A dozen-plus candles were lit and flickering — a few more than the number of years young Drew Bogroff lived.

Two red, heart-shaped balloons floated gently in the soft breeze this morning, along with a blue balloon with the familiar face of SpongeBob Square Pants.

But the centerpiece of the memorial, created at the Lancaster intersection where 11-year-old Bogroff was struck and killed while riding his bicycle Sunday, is the big sheet of paper bearing dozens of handwritten notes.

"We'll Miss You, Drew. We'll always have you in our thoughts ... from all of your friends," read a message in the middle of the memorial, in large capital letters.

As the memorial at East Madison and North Reservoir streets showed local residents' sorrow over the loss of a youth "who laughed often, and made others laugh," police today were still trying to piece together what happened in Sunday evening's accident.

Young Bogroff, a seventh-grader at Lancaster's Lincoln Middle School, died after he apparently rode his BMX-style bike into the path of a car driven by 42-year-old Michael Scott of Lancaster at around 5:30 p.m.

There were accounts by some witnesses that young Bogroff died trying to help others.

The youth was said to have seen a fight or some other disturbance in a nearby park, and was trying to get home quickly to alert his family to call police.

But police, who today said they were awaiting autopsy results as they continued their investigation, could not confirm this account.

Bogroff lived in the neighborhood, but police and school officials did not provide his specific address.

"It's an awful thing, isn't it?" a woman said this morning as she walked past the makeshift memorial.

On Monday night, friends and family had held a vigil at the scene of the accident.

Some of the neighbors called for the city to place four-way stop signs at the intersection. It now just has two stop signs, for traffic traveling on East Madison.

The area is just a few hundred feet north of Walnut Street and the Giant supermarket on Reservoir Street.

Today, School District of Lancaster officials said donations to help Bogroff's mother, Tiffani Bogroff, and family can be sent to: Lincoln Middle School, c/o the Lincoln PTO, 1001 Lehigh Ave., Lancaster 17602.

Police had said after the accident they did not believe the motorist was at fault.

It appears the youth rode his bike into the path of the car, Sgt. Mark Radmore had said.

The city police Collision Investigation Team, headed by Officer Jeff Gerhart, is looking into the accident. Anyone with information is asked to call Lancaster police at 735-3300.


Staff writer David O'Connor can be reached at doconnor@LNPnews.com or 481-6033.