UPTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A memorial continues to grow for 18-year-old Jacob Osanya, who was killed in a car crash Saturday night.
“He was raised around people who were so motivating that it was in his genetics to be someone, and to get somewhere in his life,” said Osanya’s cousin Pauline Ongiro.
According to the Upton Police Department, emergency crews responded to the area of Glenview and Pearl Street shortly after 9:07 p.m. for a report of a single vehicle crash.
“I heard the screeching of the brakes, and then a really hard hit,” said Nancy Gallant, who lives near the crash site. “I did hear a boy saying, ‘help me, help me! I can’t get out.'”
Police said there were five young men in the car when it left the road and struck a tree. The driver and three passengers were taken to the hospital after the escaped the car. Osanya was sitting in the front passenger seat. According to police, Osanya had to extricated from the vehicle and later died at the hospital.
“These past few days have been so traumatizing, so traumatizing,” said Ongiro through tears.
Osanya’s family said he had just graduated from Milford High School and had plans to open a business.
“It’s very tragic for Milford. I know a bunch of our 2022 class were devastated to hear the news about this, and a lot of us are in shock, pain,” said Osanya’s friend John DeNegris.
Family and friends have been paying their respects by placing flowers and leaving notes at the crash site.
“Every time he would walk into a room, everybody would be happy to see him,” said Osanya’s cousin Sharlet Akinyi. “He would light up the room. Just his energy – if you were in a bad mood, he was going to make it better for you.”
Osanya’s family plans to hold his funeral in Kenya, where he was born, putting together a GoFundMe page to help them cover some of the cost.
Officials said the crash is still under investigation.
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