A memorial has been created in Halfway for Gideon Brown, the 4-year-old boy who was killed when he was hit by a bus in Halfway on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023.

A 4-year-old Halfway boy died, and his mother and younger brother were critically hurt, when they were hit by a bus in Halfway on Monday evening, Jan. 30.

Gideon Wells Brown died at the scene.

His mother, Rachel Brown, 39, and brother, Basch Brown, 3, also of Halfway, were taken by Life Flight helicopter. Rachel Brown was in serious condition Wednesday afternoon at Saint Alphonsus Hospital in Boise.

Basch Brown was released from St. Luke’s Hospital in Boise on Wednesday morning. He had extensive bruising and is recovering from a concussion.

There were no other injuries.

The incident happened a little before 6 p.m. at the Pine Baptist Church, 166 W.

Record St., according to the Baker County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators from the sheriff’s office and Oregon State Police determined that a 1999 Ford bus was parked outside the church while several children boarded. The church is the site of DTour Youthgroup, a ministry of the Pine Baptist Church.

The bus is not a full-size school bus, said Ashley McClay, public information officer for the sheriff’s office. The driver was David Schmitt, 73, of Halfway.

After the children got on the bus, the vehicle “accelerated unexpectedly” and the driver “attempted to gain control of the vehicle,” according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

The bus, which had its engine running while the children were boarding, traveled out of the gravel parking lot, crossed the street and struck Brown and her sons, who had been among the group attending an event at the church, McClay said.

She said Rachel Brown was holding Basch, and Gideon was standing beside her.

Officers from the sheriff’s office and OSP will be interviewing people involved and conduct an accident reconstruction, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

Greg Baxter, Baker County district attorney, said on Wednesday, Feb. 1 that “all the evidence supports that this was a tragic accident.”

However, he said his policy, in cases in which a child dies, is to present information to a grand jury.

Officials from multiple agencies rushed to make sure counselors were available for emergency responders, students and others in the Halfway, which has a population of about 350. Halfway, in the Pine Valley, is about 53 miles east of Baker City.

Steve Backstrom, who has lived in Halfway for 39 years and is the owner and publisher of the Hells Canyon Journal, a weekly newspaper, said Monday was a devastating day for the community.

In addition to the boy’s death, another Halfway resident, 30-year-old Amber Hampton, died in a single vehicle crash on Highway 86 east of Halfway Monday morning.

“I feel like the community is just in shock and still trying to recover,” Backstrom said on Wednesday morning, Feb. 1. “It was a shocking day and series of events.”

Backstrom said the presence of many children, as well as adults, at the church parking lot where the boy was killed was “traumatizing.”

“It’s been extremely impactful,” he said. “The community is just reeling.”

Backstrom said he has been impressed, but not surprised, by how quickly Halfway and Pine Valley residents came together to offer support in any way they could.

“The community tends to rally together and be support across all different groups,” he said.

A post on the Pine Eagle School District’s Facebook page stated that New Directions Northwest and community counselors would have a debriefing on Tuesday at the Halfway Lions Club “for everyone that supported yesterday’s events.”

Cammie deCastro, superintendent of the Pine Eagle School District, issued a statement on Tuesday:

“The Pine Eagle School District is sad to report there was a tragic accident at the DTour Youth Center in Halfway, Oregon on Monday evening at 5:50 p.m. Several Pine Eagle students witnessed the traumatic event involving a mother, and her two sons. Paramedics responded and the injured were taken to the hospital by life-flight. This morning, New Directions, Pine Eagle, and Community counselors were on-site to support our students as they returned to school.”