Deadly crash cuts young man's life, and his dreams, short
GLADSTONE, Ore. – A young man who washed cars for a living while planning a future in mechanics lost his life in a tragic crash a few weeks ago and now his family and friends are trying to pick up the pieces and keep him alive in their memories.
Alex Badeau was getting ready to head back to Clackamas Community College for fall classes and would have been celebrating his 21st birthday next month.
But all of that changed the night of August 13 when Alex, who was on his motorcycle, was killed after colliding with a minivan at the intersection of Southeast Glen Echo Avenue and River Road.
"He came across the intersection and from what we know, the person turning left onto River Road from Glen Echo didn't see him," his mother, Jennifer Badeau, explained. "And Alex tried to avert the accident but wasn't able to and hit the vehicle."
The driver of the minivan, which Alex's mother said turned out to be one of her son's neighbors, passed a sobriety test and was not cited. Jennifer said her son was protected - he was wearing a motorcycle jacket, jeans and a bright helmet with an orange mohawk.
"The orange mohawk," she said with a sad, quiet laugh. "His buddies are all getting them to represent him."
The family has questions about the crash but they have tried to stay strong and move on after Alex's death, which has left a huge hole in their lives.
"It's really hard, too, because his dad's a combat vet from Desert Storm and so we've been through enough," said Jennifer. In fact, Alex's name appeared in a 1991 story in The Oregonian about his then 21-year-old father returning injured from Operation Desert Storm and reuniting with his family. Alex was just a toddler at the time.
Who was Alex?
One of his three brothers, 18-year-old Corey Badeau, said Alex was the type of person that people wanted in their lives. "He was very kindhearted," he said. "He didn't care who you were, he just wanted to get to know you."
Alex's longtime friend, 20-year-old Amanda Gardino, agreed. "He just had this kind of aura about him that made you want to get to know him," she said.
Alex was also described as having a mischievous side and according to his mother, he and Corey were inseparable.
"We were like Batman and Robin except we didn't solve crime, we made a little bit of trouble," Corey said jokingly, adding on a more serious note that "Alex tried to never let me down and if he did, he usually made up for it somehow, it didn't matter how."
For Amanda, Alex's infectious laugh, the fun they had together and just spending time with him doing nothing but hanging out and watching TV is what she'll miss the most.
The two were roommates and she said she and her boyfriend have not even been able to pick up Alex's dirty clothes in the hallway because having them there makes it seem as if he is still around.
"We haven't touched a single thing," she said. "We're thinking of putting a notebook or binder in his room and letting people sign it for his family."
Alex's mother said she'll miss the bond she had with her son. "He and I were like best friends," she said. "Not just a mother and son relationship but we went shopping - we'd go on our own little shopping missions and stuff."
Alex, who was actually born in Germany while his father was in the service, grew up in the Beavercreek/Molalla area before moving to Gladstone. He attended Molalla High School, Gladstone High School and Clackamas Community College. He was working at a car wash in Oregon City, a job his mom said was just to get him by while he focused on his true passion.
"He really wanted to work on cars and weld," his mother said. "He really wanted to get into more of the motorcycle side of it - the mechanics and understanding it - and race at some point."
Alex was one of those guys who always had grease on his hands because he was always working on something. And his mother said he had been riding dirt bikes, three-wheelers and street bikes since he was about five years old.
"He loved anything with motors," she said. "And BMX bikes - he loved to do the jumps down at Meldrum Bar here in Gladstone. And he loved skateboarding and snowboarding - he was just a really active kid."
Alex's mother said even though her son died in a motorcycle crash and it's painful, she wouldn't have changed letting him grow up doing what he loved to do.
Last weekend, a 13-year-old motorcycle rider from Vancouver, Wash., was killed while competing in a race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was laid to rest on Friday. The teen's death raised questions about whether kids should be allowed to race at high speeds and we asked Alex's mother for her thoughts.
"I think it's up to each individual - as long as the parents aren't forcing them into it," she said. "It's up to the parents and the child. I wouldn't try to stop Alex from riding because that was his passion."
Alex's death will help others
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If You Would Like to Help A fund has been set up at US Bank in Alex's name to help with funeral/burial expenses and with some of his financial obligations. |
Alex was an organ donor and that gives his family some sense of peace in all of this.
"He went down like a car would, you know, you can reuse parts for something else and I think that's the way he would have wanted it," Corey said.
Alex's mother said she hopes that someday the family will get to meet some of the people who received her son's organs. She said they did find out that a 28-year-old ended up with one of Alex's lungs. Still, she feels sorrow that his life was cut so short.
"He lived to ride bikes and drive and at some point he wanted a family," she said. "I don't know, it's not fair in a way."
