PEA RIDGE, Ark. — On July 27, 14-year-old Gavin Bivens was killed in a crash while driving a dirt bike in Garfield.
A week later, family and friends of Gavin spoke with 5NEWS about his legacy.
“Gavin was very adventurous, he was always smiling,” Gavin’s Aunt Melissa Allen said. “He had a smile that could light up the room.”
Gavin was a 9th grader at Pea Ridge Junior High and had made it onto the high school baseball team. Lane Booher said he was looking forward to being on the same team as his best friend.
“He was an all-around player, but he usually played shortstop and pitcher,” Booher said. “We went in town together and rode electric skateboards, we always went to McDonald's after school. We were about to play baseball together, and I was really excited, and then just sadly passed.”
In the aftermath of Gavin’s death, family friend Erica Osterhout said the community of Pea Ridge has come together in a tremendous way.
As of Saturday night, a GoFundMe organized by Osterhout on behalf of the family to help cover memorial and funeral expenses has raised over $23,000 dollars.
Osterhout has also been a part of organizing community events to help celebrate the life of Gavin. She said that a celebration of life will be had at Pea Ridge Memorial Park on Aug. 17, with all the proceeds of the event going to the Bivens family.
The event will feature a kickball tournament, a festival with bounce houses, food vendors and carnival games, and a live band.
“Pea Ridge is awesome,” Osterhout said. “They always show up and show out, and this was no different. We've had to move the services from a church here locally to the arena that was built for the high school, because there's just an overwhelming amount of support from everyone everywhere.”
As the family continues to recover from Gavin’s death, Allen says they are comforted by faith.
“His friends talked about how he wanted to share God with them,” Allen said. “That's something that we as a family can remember about him by and know that it's not goodbye, but see you later, because we know that we're going to see him again one day.”
Information regarding Gavin’s funeral services can be found here.
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