The weather is good

I feel like riding my bike

Mohammed's friends, fellow students and faculty were grieving Wednesday over the 14-year-old Bridgeview boy's death. He was killed when struck by a semitruck while riding his bicycle Tuesday afternoon [19 December 2006] at 91st Street and Harlem Avenue, police said.

Khawla Eassa of Palos Hills -- a cousin of Mohammed's father -- said the boy set out on his bike to buy his favorite snack.

"His mother told me that every day he wants potato chips," Eassa said.
"He puts lemon and salt on them and eats them with dinner."

One of his older sisters was going to buy coffee Tuesday afternoon and offered to give Mohammed a ride from their home in the 7100 block of Cambridge Street. He turned her down, Eassa said.

"He said, 'No, the weather is good. I feel like riding my bike,' " Eassa said.

Stephanie Gehrig
Daily Southtown
21 December 2006