Community
1 May, 2025
Remembering Ben
HUNDREDS gathered in a solemn procession following the heartbreaking death of Terang teenager Ben Rollo last week.
A candlelight vigil and procession, ‘Ben’s Walk Home,’ was held in Terang on Sunday evening to honour the 14-year-old who was tragically involved in a fatal collision on Tuesday, April 22.
Two of Ben’s closest friends, Levi and Hunter Meade, organised the event as they felt they needed to do something to shine a remembrance on their beautiful friend and to light up the night as Ben did to their every days.
“We wanted to give the community a space to come together and lean on each other, and to show Ben’s family and the driver involved just how supported they are by their community,” Levi and Hunter said in a statement to Western District Newspapers.
“When we first approached Ben’s family to ask their permission, Ben’s mum Rikki said she would wait at home for us to guide her boy home to her.
“This is what started ‘Walk Ben Home’.
“We’re both overwhelmed with how many people came out to support walking Ben home, and would like to thank the wider community for coming together in such tragic times.”
The community gathered to walk Ben home on Sunday as the sun set on the corner of Grey and Lyons Street, where a memorial has been erected for Ben with flowers, Collingwood Magpies’ apparel and messages of remembrance.
Those in attendance shared tears and smiles alike in memory of a young man who had brought more joy and love to his community than his 14 years would suggest, leaving an indelible mark on all those around him.
The crowd walked in silence on the short journey to Ben’s home – the route he would have taken that night – symbolically bringing him home to those who cherished him most.
Upon reaching the family home, those in attendance raised their candles or tied balloons to the front gate of the Rollo residence.
The family, still privately grieving as they endure the unimaginable, offered a heartfelt thanks through the organisers ahead of the vigil.
Ben is survived by his parents Rikki and Daniel and his siblings William, Ruby, Tom and Layla.
Vale Ben Rollo – 13/8/2010-22/4/2025
Read More: Terang