Friends recall man killed in crash as generous, funny

Oct. 29, 2006
By JOSEPH M. DELEON News-Post Staff
jdeleon@fredericknewspost.com

    FREDERICK — Plastic scraps and metal nuts littered a gravel parking lot on the 500 block of Highland Street behind the Frederick Fairgrounds on Friday.
      A torn section of rubber hose jutted from the rocks. Fluorescent spray paint traced skid marks in the street. An aluminum fragment with the Montegi Racing logo lay in the grass near a toppled section of wooden fence.
     They're all that remain at the scene of a car crash that killed Kervin Godey-Rivera on Oct. 18.
     He was riding in the back seat of a royal blue Honda Civic when the driver lost control and slammed into a utility pole. The driver and another passenger were injured but survived the crash.
     Whitney Hall, 20, placed a bundle of 12 roses among the debris between a metal streetlight and a wooden utility pole Thursday. It would have been her boyfriend's 23rd birthday.
“That's the place where his life ended,” she said as her voice cracked. “It will always be an important spot to me.”
About a dozen of Kervin's friends gathered in a cramped Taney Avenue apartment Friday afternoon.
Heavy gray clouds hung low in the sky, making the horizon blur with a steady drizzle. Four men in their early 20s smoked cigarettes and drank cans of Budweiser on the porch, a narrow overhang sheltering them from the rain.
     Behind them, double glass sliding doors shielded several women from the 45-degree temperatures as they sat and discussed their favorite memories of Kervin.
     Vivian “Miss Chicken” King, who earned the nickname because she was a scrawny child, welcomed the guests into her crowded apartment where Kervin lived for the past two years.
     Ms. King, 60, met him through a mutual friend who hired Kervin to help him work construction jobs. At the time, Kervin was between homes and needed a place to stay.
     “He asked if he could stay two weeks, but that turned into two years,” she said. “In that time, he became like a son to me — he was very well-mannered and very respectful.”
     Kervin shared many of the hardships he suffered as a child in his hometown of Trenton N.J. during long conversations, she said.
     “In New Jersey, he used to live in the street,” she said. “He was addicted to crack, drank and was with all the wrong people.”
     Ms. King , who said she is a recovering alcoholic and crack addict, said she has been clean and sober for more than eight years. She believed Kervin was a good person who just needed positive attention.
     Before Ms. Hall started dating Kervin, she told him she couldn't be with a drug addict.
     “He said to give him a couple of months, but I didn't believe him,” Ms. Hall said. “But, he was very strong because he did it.”
     Kervin stopped using drugs and started working at Toys R Us, Ms. Hall said. He had plans to start his own construction business.
     “Kervin was a people person,” Ms. Hall said. “He liked to party and loved to meet new people, and he liked to compare his life to other people.”
     Kervin wasn't afraid to laugh at himself, and made friends wherever he went Ms. Hall said.
     One of his friends will always appreciate Kervin for helping him get a job at Toys R Us.
     Mauricio Correa, 19, who suffered whiplash in the crash, was in the front passenger seat.
     Mr. Correa admired Kervin for being a man of his word and helping those around him.
     “The third time I met him, I asked him If he knew where I could get a job,” he said. “He got on the cell phone and the next day I had a job — for that I was always grateful.”
     Kervin impressed Mr. Correa one day when he exchanged greetings with a Chinese neighbor who didn't speak English.
     “Kervin knew everybody, it didn't matter who you were; he wanted to be friends with everyone,” he said.
     David Simpson, 22, recalled how Kervin wanted everyone to enjoy themselves and often shared what he had.
     “He was the most generous person you'd ever know,” he said.
     During gatherings, when other people would only bring enough beer for themselves, Kervin often brought a 12-pack and shared.
     Ms. Hall recalled how he could make the whole room light up when he would act silly.
     “Everyone knew him from his accent,” she said. “Not that many people could understand him, but I could.”
     Kervin enjoyed buying gifts for friends and bought Ms. Hall her first car, a 1998 Saturn. Kervin often took her on trips to Charles Town, W.Va. where they would gamble at a casino and spend the night in an expensive room.
     “He made me feel like I was the best woman on earth,” Ms. Hall said as she shuffled through several pictures of Kervin. “He made me a better person, and I'm lucky to have had him in my life.”