A SUFFOLK teenager who was killed as he took a short cut across one of the region's busiest roads could have tripped on his own shoelaces before his fatal collision with a car.

A SUFFOLK teenager who was killed as he took a short cut across one of the region's busiest roads could have tripped on his own shoelaces before his fatal collision with a car.

Lee Flack died as he crossed the A11 at Red Lodge with a group of friends and the death of the popular 14-year-old has plunged the village near Mildenhall into mourning.

Residents in the tight-knit community spoke yesterday of their shock as they learned of the death of Lee, who lived in Magnolia Close.

A worker at the village shop, who asked not to be named, said: "It's heartbreaking. Lee was a lovely boy who came from a lovely family. We knew him very well ourselves and we can't get over what has happened.

"It's heartbreaking for the family, but it's not just a family tragedy, it's a village tragedy. He was a very well-known face in the village and it's such a sad thing."

Lee, his older brother and two friends had been to visit one of the boy's fathers at the Red Lodge scrapyard where he worked before the accident happened on Monday night.

Scrapyard manager Robert McGivern, said Mario Gates, the 14-year-old son of his colleague Peter, had been with Lee on the night he died.

"I was locking up when I saw something going on over on the road, but just thought it was a minor crash. I never dreamed it was the boys who had come up here earlier," he added.

"They had come to see Peter about something or other and they must have decided to take a short cut home. It seems that some of the boys had crossed the road safely, but Lee fell over on his shoelaces.

"It's such a tragedy because this could so easily have been avoided. It should not have happened because there is the bridge there, but boys will be boys."

Inspector Mark Quinton, of Suffolk police, said two of the four boys had made it to the central crash barrier of the A11 when Lee had been involved in a collision with a car, thought to be a Honda.

"The boys were not playing 'chicken' or anything like that," he said. "They were crossing the road to get home. Lee was seen crouching down – he may well have tripped on his shoelaces. The message we want to give out is that people should not cross dual carriageways.