‘He worked harder than anybody’: Youth baseball coach remembers teen killed while riding bike home

FREEPORT, Pa. — Dylan Tarbi, 13, is being remembered for the impact he left as a Boy Scout, a boxer and an avid baseball player after he was killed after being hit by a truck while riding a bicycle over the weekend.

Freeport Area Youth Baseball Assistant Coach Eric Westendorf said Tarbi loved the game and played hard. Westendorf coached Tarbi on the field for about five years and admired his drive for the game.

“He worked harder than anybody else,” Westendorf said. “He was extremely fast. He was a kid that we would - first pitch - would send him to steal the next base because there was not a whole lot of catchers around here that could throw him out. He was that fast.”

The all-around Freeport Area Middle School student-athlete was also a stellar cross-country runner.

“He’d just recently broke the school record for the mile for seventh grade,” Westendorf said.

Tarbi’s speed led his youth baseball team to a win Thursday night.

“We were down 4-1 and he scored one of the runs that eventually came back to help us win the game 6-4,” Westendorf said. “[It was] another one of those moments we got to see that beautiful, electric smile.”

Thursday’s game was Tarbi’s last one before the tragic crash.

The seventh grader was hit and killed by a pickup truck on Cole Road as the sun was setting Friday evening on May 24.

The Buffalo Township Police Department said Tarbi and his friend were riding their bikes home when they were hit by the truck. The truck’s driver said he didn’t see the teens because of the sun’s glare. The other 13-year-old was not seriously hurt.

Westendorf said Tarbi’s smile and energy won’t soon be forgotten.

“Prayers to the family and prayers to the driver of the vehicle,” he said. “The family is carrying a very heavy burden. I’m sure that driver is as well. But our community is great. We’ve rallied around families before and we’ll do it again.”

The coach told Channel 11 that Tarbi’s classmates are planning on wearing his number 88 to school on Tuesday.

As for the investigation, Buffalo Township Police Chief Tim Derringer said he does not believe speed played a role in the crash but they’re still investigating. The driver is not facing any charges at this time.

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