Child killed while riding bike in Williamstown was practicing for upcoming vacation, his family says

Seven-year-old Max Curtis Rothschild, who was killed last week while riding his bike in Williamstown, will be laid to rest on Tuesday, his family said.

He had just learned how to ride a bike “and was so proud of himself” before the crash, his family said in an online tribute published on a funeral home’s website.

“He was practicing to get ready for a longer bike ride on an upcoming family vacation,” his family said.

Berkshire County prosecutors on Monday identified Rothschild as the child killed in a bicycling accident in Williamstown last Friday.

Rothschild, who lives in Williamstown, was riding his bicycle when he “unintentionally entered Main Street,” and was struck by a vehicle near Buxton Hill Road, the Berkshire district attorney’s office said.

Max Curtis RothschildCourtesy Photo/Flynn and Dagnoli Funeral Homes
The driver was “not impaired by alcohol or drugs,” and Rothschild was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision, prosecutors said in a statement.

The crash is under investigation.

Rothschild is survived by his brother, Caleb, and his sister, Eleanor, (Ellie) and his parents, Laura Kaufman and Adam Rothschild.

Rothschild was also a member of a chess club and loved going to chess camp, his family said. He loved math, loved learning, skiing, and swimming and being in the water.

“On a family trip in Maine a couple weeks ago, he went in lake after lake and still wanted to go back in the pool after dinner for night swimming,” his family said.

He was also discovering golf.

He “proudly told us the night before he died that he had won two of the competitions at his golf clinic,” his family said.

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Rothschild had a strong personality and knew what he wanted, his family said.

“In pre-school we referred to him as the mayor of the school because he walked around like he owned the place (and that’s how he was treated),” his family said.

His funeral is scheduled for Tuesday at Congregation Beth Israel in North Adams. Burial will follow at a cemetery in Clarksburg, according to the family tribute.

Donations can be made in Max’s memory to the Williamstown Youth Center, where Max went after school, in lieu of flowers, his family said.

“Max brought so much joy and love into all our lives,” his family said. “We will miss his incredible mind, his determination, his mischievousness, his adventurous spirit, his bossiness, his smile, and all the little things that made him exactly who he was.”

“We will all miss him forever. Seven years with Max was not enough time,” his family said.