THE heartbroken parents of Kyle O’Reilly, who was fatally electrocuted on Sunday, are determined to find out what happened to their son, if only to help prevent the same fate befalling others.
According to Kyle’s heartbroken father, Wayne O’Reilly it is believed Kyle stepped on an exposed cable while trying to cross the Umbilo river as he had many times before.
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“This isn’t about me, this is about Kyle, he was just a child and he died unnecessarily,” said O’Reilly who described his son as “the brightest light of my whole life.”
Kyle, who was in Grade 5 at Hillary Primary School, would have turned 12 in September and was looking forward to going to high school in two years time.
“I cannot imagine how I can be expected to move on from this without knowing exactly what happened and how such a tragedy can be prevented.”
O’Reilly said Kyle, like any other child, was full of life and shouldn’t have been taken from his parents this way.
“He was just a child,” he kept repeating.
Kyle’s death has brought his family closer together.
“Although Kyle’s mother and I are separated, we are joined forever as parents, and are grieving together,” he said.
Kyle’s mother, Misty Wood, lives in Seaview where Kyle spent most of his time.
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“We had just come back from a mother-and-son morning and he had been given pies and some chips and had kept some for his brother,” recalled Wood.
“He loved being outdoors. Playing with his group of his friends and exploring the nature strip and the D’Moss area adjacent to the Umbilo Park was normal for him.”
He is thought to have stepped on an exposed cable while trying to cross the Umbilo river as he had many times before.
Kyle’s group of friends who were with him when tragedy struck fled to summon help.
“One of his friends was so upset he wasn’t able to get to him to help him,” said O’Reilly.
“We are just so grateful he had friends with him who cared, especially the youngest one who was the one who stayed to try to help,” he said.
Police divers and members of the K9 unit on Sunday recovered Kyle’s body from where his father had found him while looking for his son.
O’Reilly said he is also looking into ensuring that both Kyle’s mother, and his friends receive trauma counselling to help them cope with the tragedy.
The family will hold a service at the Full Gospel Church in Umbilo in Stella Road on Monday morning at 11am, followed by a private cremation.
Chezney Cockerell of the Bellair CFP sector and NHW for the area said the family had asked for assistance with funds for the burial of their son.
“Please can members assist by donating any amount of money to make this possible,” said Cockerell. For details on how to help, contact him on 084 519 3559 or the sector 2 chairman Raihaan Mahomed on 078 475 3034.
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