1 year later: Champaign Co. community remembers young boy after train accident

ST. JOSEPH, Ill. (WCIA) — St. Joseph skies were filled with green balloons Sunday morning to honor Easton Wilsey, a 9-year-old boy who was hit and killed by a train in Royal last year.

It has been an emotional year for family, friends, teammates and other community members in the St. Joseph-Ogden-Royal area. On Sept. 8, 2023, the fourth-grade boy was riding his bike to school when he was killed .

Exactly one year later, the communities wanted to remember him, on the field where Wilsey spent a lot of time playing sports at the St. Joseph Sports Complex. Hundreds gathered on the 50-yard line, filled green balloons and attached small notes to each one.

Jordan Lawhead, a close family friend, said some people came by who barely knew Wilsey. He knows support like that means the world to every family member affected by the loss.

“Today is the celebration of an individual who’s a perfect, perfect child. Somebody who is going to live on in our memories and our hearts for the rest of our lives,” Lawhead said. “He was an angel on earth. To lose him was really difficult and to see everyone come through and continuously come through a year later, just really means the world to everybody.”

When you enter the Village of Royal, you’ll see blue signs honoring Wilsey. Close friends worked with officials to get them put up. His family also keeps up the cross near the railroad track where the accident happened.

This year at “Royal Days,” the community raised money for his memorial fund. There is also a wall in his honor at Freeman’s Tavern. Meanwhile, at PVO North Elementary, there is a plaque on the wall to remember him. Wilsey would have started fifth grade this year at the district’s building in Ogden. Teachers wanted to keep his memory alive in that building and decorated a locker with photos and his name.

To see WCIA’s exclusive 4-minute sit down with Wilsey’s mom and fourth-grade teacher, follow this link .

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