Community gathers to remember third grader struck, killed at KC intersection
Dozens lined the corner of Food Lane and Longview Road Thursday evening, the crisp fall breeze blowing scores of blue and white balloons.
A blue tent, lined with stuffed animals, sat across the street, a white child’s bike chained to a lamppost.
The occasion was to remember Hazen Workman-Duffy, a third grader at Ingels Elementary School who was struck and killed by a car while riding her bike to school last Tuesday.
The short vigil drew crowds of adults and children alike, many standing stoically, with tears streaming down somber faces. Attendees read prayers in remembrance of the third grader.
Hazen’s family remember her as a girl with a “passion for life,” who loved riding her bike, swimming, coloring, crocheting, reading and spending time with loved ones, according to her obituary.
Loved ones say the third grader gave “the best hugs,” which she gave to “everyone she could, there was never a stranger,” her obituary said. She had a compassionate spirit and a smile that “could light up a room.”
Tributes from Hazen’s teachers poured in, too.
“She was the absolute sweetest, compassionate and kind-hearted kiddo,” Tracy Blachowicz, Hazen’s first grade teacher, wrote in her obituary. “I will always remember her for her sweet, warm smile and her daily hugs.”
An employee from Hazen’s preschool, Rachel Johnson, wrote that Hazen left a mark on her.
“Her sweetness, her light, and her love for the people around her made every day brighter,” Johnson said.
Hazen was riding her bike to Ingels Elementary School about 7:15 a.m. Oct. 14 on a marked crosswalk when she was struck by a white Ford Transit van traveling north on Food Lane and turning west on to Longview Road.
Hazen had the green signal to enter the crosswalk, police said. Bystanders at the scene worked to give Hazen CPR and comfort her mother as paramedics arrived.
“I went over to her, just kind of rubbed her back, held her hand, and I was like, ‘I know this is stupid to say, but I really need you to breathe,’ because she was just having a hard time catching her breath,” Ruby Perkins, a witness at the scene, previously told The Star.
Hazen was transported to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The fatal crash was the third incident at the Food lane and Longview Road intersection in three months, according to data from the police department. A vehicle hit a “fixed object” on July 15 and a vehicle hit another as it stopped in traffic on Aug. 27.
A GoFundMe for Hazen raised nearly $14,000 as of Thursday evening.
Hazen’s vigil occurred the same day that Duke Ommert, a 10-year-old from Leawood, died from injuries he sustained when an electric scooter he was riding was hit by a vehicle last week.
This story was originally published October 23, 2025 at 10:22 PM.
