Just a month after graduating from Hamden High School, Elias Hnini, a soccer player “with a heart of gold,” died in a car crash on Orchard Street.
That crash took place at around midnight on Sunday, according to city police spokesperson Officer Scott Shumway.
Shumway told the Independent that officers responded to a single motor vehicle crash on Orchard Street between Munson and Henry Street at around 11:47 p.m.
Officers found the driver of the vehicle, Hnini, unresponsive. He was transported by American Medical Response to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he passed away.
Shumway said the New Haven Crash team is currently leading an investigation into the incident.
The loss of life weighs heavily on a school community still hurting from the deaths of two other Hamden High Schoolers back in May. 15-year-old Elijah Gomez was targeted and shot to death while walking home from school on May 9; 16-year-old Isschar Howard drowned in Lyme on May 21.
“We are deeply saddened by Elias’s untimely death,” Hamden Superintendent of Schools Jody Goeler told the Independent. “Our thoughts are with his family as our community grieves his passing. He was a young man with tremendous talent and a bright future. We all feel his loss.”
The James Vick Foundation, a nonprofit organization that organizes free sports programming for youth across Connecticut, mourned the death of Hnini, a founding member of one of their soccer teams, on Monday.
“Elias was a happy, energetic, fun loving kid with a heart of gold,” the foundation wrote in a Facebook post. “He never failed to make us laugh. He was everything you would want in a young person, and he worked so hard to achieve his dreams, even when it was difficult, even when the odds were stacked against him, this kid met his circumstances head on, he was a warrior for the ages, and an inspiration to us all.
“When a young person so full of life leaves us so unexpectedly, there are so many questions about what could have been, we think about the wonderful man he was set to become, and the positive impact he has had on so many people.”
“The world lost a champion,” they asserted. “We will be dedicating the 2022 – 2023 season to Elias Hnini. His legacy, his impact, will forever be remembered, and honored, by the James Vick Foundation.”
My condolences to the loved ones of the deceased.