Friends have paid tribute to “humble” and “inspiring” father-of-four Kashwayne McKenzie, who was killed on Sunday afternoon after his bike crashed at the Parker’s Raceway in Breakers, Bodden Town.
The sudden death of the 29-year-old prison officer, of Bodden Town, has sent shock waves through the local community.
“He was a hard working young man. He [had a second job working] heavy equipment whilst being a full-time prison officer and was a dedicated father,” fellow prison officer and close friend Carl Grant told the Cayman Compass on Monday.
His immediate family declined to comment at this time.
McKenzie’s accident happened just after 2pm on Sunday when he lost control of his black Suzuki motorcycle and fell from it, the RCIPS said in a statement Sunday evening.
A father who lived for his kids
Grant, speaking with the Compass, said his and McKenzie’s friendship spans over a decade, including time they spent together on the same track and field team.
“We go way back to 2009,” he said, adding that the last time he saw McKenzie was just last week at the UCCI graduation ceremony, when Grant was graduating.
He said McKenzie always put his children first in everything he did.
“He has four children, two girls and two boys… when it comes to his children, they meant the world to him,” he said, adding that the family had recently returned from summer vacation.
Grant said McKenzie’s death came as a shock to him, since when he initially heard about the crash, he did not think it was fatal.
“We graduated from the prison training together so we have a group as a graduating class and someone mentioned that he was in an accident, but he is conscious. So I didn’t think anything of it until a friend called and said he passed away… I told her no, but then I saw it on the news,” Grant said.
He said he did not attend the race on Sunday, but said he had tried to convince McKenzie “to leave the bike life alone, but he was passionate about it.”
“Untimely death is real… We need to do the best we can to protect our lives,” Grant lamented.
McKenzie was an ‘inspiration’
Joel Brown, close friend and former schoolmate, is struggling to come to terms with McKenzie’s passing.
“I never told Kash I was motivated by him, but watching him obtain things made me go after mine. He really inspired me, but he didn’t know ‘cos I never told him… I looked up to him,” Brown told the Compass Monday.
He said he was supposed to be at the raceway on Sunday, but missed it because he had to work.
Brown said he got a call about the crash.
“His throttle got stuck at the end of the race and everything went bad,” he said, adding that he had hoped his friend would have pulled through.
“He has been racing for… over 10 years now. He raced cars and bikes… it was his favourite sport… Man, [he was] such a good soul. I didn’t think it was him at all and when I saw his name I literally cried,” Brown said.
Brown said he is still trying to make sense of his friend’s death.
‘Everybody loved being around him’
“I went to school with him from middle school to high school. We graduated together in 2011. He was very humble. Everybody loved being around him. He had good energy and was always into automotive cars and bikes. He never got in any fights… I can’t name one person that had a problem with him,” Brown said.
He said McKenzie motivated so many people.
“He died doing something he loved. He will surely be missed. He worked as a prison officer and in prison he always spoke to the guys… gave them good advice,” he added.
Brown said McKenzie had no bad habits and was “very mature” for 29, having had his first child at a young age.
“He literally just bought all his children school gear. That’s [why] they went away. His baby mother went to school with us… we all graduated together. No one can say anything bad about him. He was a very hard-working person, he always worked. Before we graduated he was already working in automotive,” Brown said.
Friend Jerrin Carter said the sudden passing of McKenzie has left a void that cannot be filled.
“Kashwayne was a very great friend and a awesome person. Everyone he met enjoyed the time they spent with him. Even from school he was always one of the most energetic, happy and caring [people] around and he will always be remembered as that. I’m happy that he has four beautiful kids to carry on his legacy and all of us that are friends will definitely watch over them,” Carter told the Compass on Monday evening.
Investigations into McKenzie’s death are continuing, police have said.
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