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Dakota Rivard, Feb. 20, 2007 — Oct. 27, 2023
Dakota Rivard lived his quick life on his personal phrases, pushing his limits and relying solely on himself, says his grieving mother.
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However Jaime Poisson has been most stunned by the large outpouring of affection for him since his tragic dying.
The 16-year-old died Oct. 27 following a collision involving two bikes on Windsor’s E.C. Row Expressway.
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“Via this tragedy, I discovered that Dakota touched much more individuals than I had ever recognized,” Poisson stated. “I’d at all times recognized him to be simply essentially the most shiny, decided little boy, however he was at all times type of quiet.
“Since going to highschool, he simply solid his web out and there’s so many individuals that don’t have anything however good issues to say.”
Dakota, a Grade 11 scholar at Riverside secondary faculty, had a deep love for the exhilaration and the texture of driving, whether or not it was a BMX bike or a motorbike.
“He liked his bikes. He liked life … in his means,” Poisson stated. “He was unapologetically himself is what I used to say to him, as a result of he wouldn’t give in.
“You couldn’t persuade him to do one thing he didn’t wish to do.”
Poisson stated her son has been on two wheels since he was two. He spent hours “tinkering along with his bikes.
“He advised me proper from a younger, younger age, he was driving motorbikes and ‘I’m going to have a motorbike, mother,’” she stated.
“He labored at that. He made certain that, as quickly as he obtained his licence, the day after his (sixteenth) birthday … he obtained that licence instantly, very first thing within the morning and he’s been on the go ever since.”
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Dakota leaves behind his dad, Ryan Rivard, and a “massive, blended household” — siblings Aryana Rivard, 17, Alexis and Dante Rivard, 13, Poisson’s step-daughter Adrienne Lesperance-Fields, 21, and cousins Kendall Warlow, 25, and Kylie Warlow, 24.
“They’re simply siblings,” Poisson stated. “They grew up collectively.”
And Dakota was like an uncle to Kylie Warlow’s two kids, “who he simply adored.”
Poisson stated Dakota’s dying has left a gaping gap of their lives.
“It’s surreal,” she stated. “It seems like a crater.
“I’m doing OK in the intervening time — simply went over funeral preparations (and) picked out songs.
“That sort of stuff makes me really feel comfortable as a result of I do know the stuff that he liked,” she stated by means of tears. “However on the identical time it type of rips it open once more.”
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Teen dies in motorbike collision on E.C. Row
Motorcyclist perishes from accidents suffered in automotive collision
Households First Funeral Residence, 1065 Lauzon Rd. in Windsor, is dealing with the funeral preparations.
Visitation will happen Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m., Sunday from 2 to five p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. A Celebration of Life service will probably be held Monday at 11 a.m. on the funeral residence.
jkotsis@postmedia.com
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