The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Family mourns man killed in bike accident
Family mourns man killed in dirt bike crash
NEW HAVEN >> Ask anyone in Oscar Lenardo Brown’s family what they will miss most about him and they all will have a similar response.
“He was always smiling, had a big smile,” Tanya Williams-Richardson said about her late son. “He had nice teeth, nice and white, and he was always saying ‘look at these pearly whites’ and showing them off.”
Brown, 27, was killed July 16 after the dirt bike he was riding collided with a car at Bassett Street and Shelton Avenue.
One week after the fatal crash, the streetcorner is decorated with balloons, photos and candles that spell out “Oscar.”
Williams-Richardson, who gave birth to Brown at the age of 14, said her son was her best friend.
“It’s been so hard,” she said. “We basically grew up together. He told me everything.” She said Brown was a great father, friend, and son.
He loved riding his dirt bike. “It made him really happy,” Williams-Richardson said. “You would see him riding with that big smile all up and down the street.”
As a mother, WilliamsRichardson said she was always concerned for his safety while riding.
“I was always telling him to wear a helmet, to be careful,” she said.
The last day she saw Brown was while he was taking a nap on a chair in her living room as she was headed out the door. Later that day, Brown borrowed his friend’s dirt bike to go for a ride, as he had done so many times before, and was struck by a car.
Residents in the area of the accident watched the crash scene from their front porches. A man named Dwight said he will never forget the events of the day.
“It’s a sad day for this neighborhood,” Dwight, who declined to give his last name, said that day. “We heard a boom and everybody ran out. We saw a crowd around him and I was so shocked. I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life.”
Nearly every day since, family and friends have been gathering at WilliamsRichardson’s home on Dixwell Avenue, sharing stories, showing support for each other and mourning his passing. Brown’s grandmother, Theresa Howard, said he was funny, caring and loved his family above everything else.
“He was always telling a joke, making everybody laugh,” Howard said. “You couldn’t be in the room with him without hearing him say something funny.”
Early this week, those closest to Brown gathered at the streetcorner where the accident occurred and let dozens of blue and white balloons into the air.
“It was so beautiful to see them all in the sky like that,” Howard said.
Brown was born and reared in New Haven. He attended Hyde School in Hamden and was recently working on a construction project at Quinnipiac University. He played sports growing up, including football and basketball.
He left behind four young children between the ages of 2 and 9: Osiana, Oscar, Rylan and King.
He had five siblings: three brothers, Damar Thomas, Anthony Smith and Nasir Richardson, and two sisters, Zola and Silver Richardson.
Williams-Richardson said her son’s life had its ups and downs. But one thing was for sure — he was loved.
“He will be missed dearly. At least now he can be at peace. He doesn’t have to worry about anything,” Williams said.
A ceremony for Brown will be held Tuesday. The Police Department has said the crash is under investigation.