Cary family struggles with loss of 9-year-old

Deborah Brown, 49, of Cary, was driving on Maple Avenue near Maynard Road when her Lexus SUV collided with Paul Pham Dang at about 7:15 p.m., police said.

“I just ran over a kid on a bicycle and I need for you to come with an ambulance, oh my God,” Brown told emergency dispatchers following the accident. “He just, like, came out from nowhere. There were three kids and they ran right out in front of me. I was going really slow. Then all the sudden it's like...ahhhh I didn't even see him come right in front of my car.”

Paul Dang was traveling on Maple Avenue, perpendicular to the path of the SUV, police said.

His mother, Jenny, believes the vehicle was not traveling at a slow rate of speed.

"She drive very fast, she drive very fast," she said. "She did not stop!"

The incident happened as the boy was riding his bicycle with his father, Theopham Pham, and three friends.

The dad said his son loved to ride his new bike.

"He'd ride every day," he said.

Paul Dang was taken to WakeMed, where he died while surrounded by family.

"A reminder to drivers, with the warmer weather there's more kids out," said Cary police Lt. Marcus Pearson. "Just to be aware of what is going on around you."

Paul was a third grader at Park Mill Elementary School and enjoyed martial arts, his family said.

No charges have been filed. According to authorities, speed and alcohol were not factors in the crash.