"We continue to feel him everyday:" Family uses Legos to help keep memory of young boy alive



JAMESTOWN TOWNSHIP, MI -- The death of an 8-year-old boy is sparking a nationwide effort to help keep his memory alive -- with Legos.

According to WXMI, Austin Lotterman was struck by a car while crossing the street and died from his injuries. Witnesses say they saw Austin run toward the road and only looked one way before crossing the street.

Now, Austin's family is piecing their lives back together with the help of Austin's favorite Lego toys. The family has placed Austin's Legos around the area as a gift to children who find them.

Austin's love for Legos gave his family the idea of packaging tiny Lego men attached with the message, "Loving Legos, Remembering Austin."

"As parents who have lost a child, you want nothing more than your child to be remembered and to talk about him, and to have other people remember him," said Karisa Lotterman, Austin's mother.

Austin's father, Russ, says his son's favorite thing in the world was Legos.

"We got him a set for Christmas, and he would just dump all of them into his box and make new creations of sets. He loved Legos," said Russ.

The idea to remember Austin with Legos has sparked interest from Italy, Germany and England -- sharing his story with the world while finding hope in tomorrow.

"Mostly our strength and faith in God has gotten us through this, and we continue to feel him everyday," said Russ.

According to WXMI, the Lottermans say they don't blame the driver for what happened and they are thankful the driver tried to help Austin at the scene.

Police say there won't be any charges in the crash -- calling it a tragic, freak accident.

If you would like to reach out to Austin's family, they've created a Facebook page in his memory.