‘Wake me up’: Father reacts to 13-year-old killed in Clovis bicycle crash

CLOVIS, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – On Wednesday morning, Parjodh Singh stood on Bullard Avenue with his cousins, staring solemnly at the sidewalk. This is where his son, 13-year-old Agamjodh Singh Cheema, was killed less than 24 hours earlier.

“Sometimes I think it’s just a dream. Somebody wake me up,” Singh pleaded.

Shortly before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Agamjodh was riding his bike on Bullard and Armstrong avenues.

This would have been forbidden by Singh and his wife, who never allow their children ride their bikes alone. However, this time, Agamjodh left without permission.

Police say he was riding without a helmet when a car hit and killed him. The driver cooperated with officers and was not arrested.

Singh says he was in L.A. for business and had spoken with his son on the phone less than 30 minutes before it happened. The next call he got was from his wife describing the crash scene.

“She sees that he is on the road, and they have a cloth on top of him,” Singh said.

Singh described the situation without a tear in his eye. He says his family is falling apart, so he feels the responsibility to stay strong and mourn internally.

He then reminisced on all of Agamjodh’s unfulfilled dreams.

“He was a talented young man, and he wanted to be in the NBA,” Singh said.

He says Agamjodh got straight-As, played football and basketball and was kind to everyone he met. He says anyone would be lucky to have a son like him.

“He was a hell of an athlete, hell of a friend and hell of a student,” Singh said.

This is not the first tragedy of its kind on Bullard Avenue in recent years. In 2021, Clovis doctor Sidney Carpenter, also known as ‘the dancing man,’ was killed while crossing the street. 

Now, a permanent bench sits near the crash site in his honor.

Tragedies like these injure more than just the victims. Agamjodh was one of three sons, leaving behind his six-year-old brother and his twin.

Singh says there’s no bond like that between twins.

“I have to just support him to mentally heal from this trauma,” Singh said.

Singh says the road to healing will be long, and he prays no one else experiences his level of pain.

He says he and his wife were always careful, never allowing their kids to ride their bikes alone or without helmets. Now, this policy has become even more important to him.

He urges other parents to “Keep them close. Neighborhood biking is fine. Take them to a trail if you have to. I, personally, going forward, would not let my sons go far from the neighborhood for a bicycle ride.”

The family set up a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral expenses and is holding a candlelight vigil at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.