It was a morning routine that Harun Saifullah Syafa embraced: Taking his two kids to their Bethesda bus stop. Lately they’d been joined by an 18-month baby brother in a stroller.

       “He loved walking with his kids, every morning,” said Sade Bimantara, a friend and colleague of Syafa’s at the Indonesian Embassy in Washington.

       Wp Get the full experience.Choose your plan ArrowRight

       Wednesday morning started off no differently as the family gathered in a grassy area about 15 feet from the road where the bus came: Grosvenor Lane. Then tragedy hit.

       A Honda Accord came up suddenly from behind, driving out of the same townhouse community. The driver, described by a police spokesman as an “elderly male,” veered left, jumped the curb, drove over the grass and crashed into Syafa and his son, authorities said.

       The father suffered only minor injuries. His son, critically hurt, died the next day the hospital. Police identified him Friday as Muhammad Haekal Saifullah Elsyaf.

       Advertisement

       Also on Friday, police in Washington identified the 10-year-old boy who died several days ago after the van he and his father were in collided with a Metrobus in Southeast Washington. D.C. police said the boy, Amir Fultz of Southeast Washington, was a passenger in the van.

       In Bethesda, family and friends of 7-year-old Muhammad mourned his loss. Three schoolmates, with a parent, came to see a shrine of flowers left at the bus stop, at Grosvenor and King Charles Way.

       Muhammad “was a bubbly boy, an outgoing kid,” Bimantara said. “He asked big questions. Why? How? He loved making new friends.”

       On Wednesday morning, Claudia Perez was at a different bus stop — on the other side of Grosvenor Lane — waiting for a school bus with her 10-year-old daughter when she heard what sounded like a car making screeching and slamming sounds. She left her daughter with a friend and ran toward the sounds.

       Advertisement

       Crossing Grosvenor, she saw a man sitting in the grass and holding his son across his lap — trying to comfort him, trying to make sure he stayed awake. Others had come to help as well, including someone with medical training who said the boy had possible broken bones in both arms and his hip, according to Perez.

       Perez knew the boy was badly hurt but she was hopeful.

       “I thought he would pull through. You know how resilient kids are,” Perez said.

       But at the hospital, his parents were receiving a dire prognosis, said Bimantara, who met them there. As the evening came, Syafa told Bimantara: “We are praying for a miracle, but we will accept any decision God will make.”

       A neighbor of the boy’s family, Sevak Amalyan, said he moved to the street about a month ago and had seen the boy out with his father playing.

       Advertisement

       “From what I saw he was an incredibly careful father. They are a peaceful family. They’re very nice people. He was extremely careful with his kids,” Amalyan said. “There are no words for this. They were running and playing, riding scooters a few days ago with others and the next day we’re reading the news that he’s gone.”

       Police said an investigation in the collision continues. No charges have been filed.

       Van hits Metrobus in D.C., killing van driver and injuring his child

       The D.C. crash happened at 1:20 a.m. Sunday in the 3300 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE just off Interstate 295, according to police. An initial investigation found that Amir Fultz’s father, Demetrius Fultz, 47, of Southeast Washington was driving a GMC cargo van north when it crossed the yellow line and ran head-on into a Metrobus heading in the opposite direction.

       Demetrius Fultz died at the scene, and Amir was taken to a hospital with critical injuries. He died Thursday, according to police.

       Authorities said the bus driver was not hurt and that four passengers on the bus at the time suffered minor injuries.

       Earlier in the week, police had said their major crash unit was investigating and that they were trying to determine whether alcohol or speed were involved.

       Efforts to reach the Fultz family was unsuccessful Friday.

       Emily Davies and Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report.