A Bronx football team and local residents gathered Friday for a candlelight vigil in an outpouring of love and grief to honor Dwight Downer, a friend, role model and local leader, who died after being struck by a vehicle in Baychester last week. Dozens of current and former athletes—along with fellow coaches, family and friends—came together at the Williamsbridge Oval football field to mourn his passing.
Downer, or ‘Coach D’ as he was affectionally known, volunteered his time coaching high school and youth football in the Bronx for more than a decade, inspiring those around him to show up for their team on and off the field.
Downer, 60, died early Saturday morning on Nov. 30 when a truck ran a red light at Eastchester Road and Givan Avenue and collided with a BMW. The sedan then hit multiple parked cars before fatally striking Downer who was getting out of his vehicle to walk home, according to police. Surveillance footage showed the truck fleeing the scene moments after the crash.
Downer’s partner, Tasha Andrews, told the Bronx Times at the vigil that the tears she shed over Downer’s death weren’t tears of regret or remorse.
“I just miss my best friend,” she said. “I miss my partner. I just miss his presence.”
Mourners gathered in a tight semicircle around photos of Downer, resembling a football huddle. Many of his friends and family dressed in Bronx Buccaneers uniforms and DeWitt Clinton High School letterman jackets. Current and former team members told stories about Downer, sharing laughter and tears over the man that touched all of their lives.
Andrews said that it was the small moments that she would remember the most, recalling the time that he cooked her a six-course dinner for her birthday.
“He cared effortlessly,” Andrews said. “I was so grateful to be the recipient of all of that love and care that he had.”
She said that Downer taught her to seize the moment and always show up as the best person that she could be. Andrews said that Downer always brought his A-game to the table, not because he wanted praise, but because he was a man of integrity.
“I wish he could have seen the lives that he touched because I don’t think he really understood the magnitude of his presence, the importance of the type of man that he was,” Andrews said.
The shocking tragedy united the community who showed up to honor their coach and role model. Malachai Smith, who played for Coach D on the Bronx Buccaneers, said that it had been more than 10 years since he had seen some of his teammates. He called his former coach a “golden soul.”
“Coach D, he personally gets into people’s heads in a good way,” Smith said. “He wants to bring the best out of you. Not every coach cares that much.”
Downer, who had a career as a corrections officer prior to becoming a volunteer coach in retirement, made it his mission to keep young men and women out of the criminal justice system. His fellow coaches said that his goal was to build strong members of the community who would give back.
Downer was a mentor to his colleague and Bronx Buccaneers Coach Kenyata White who said that he showed up an hour before every practice to give her on-the-field guidance.
“He made you, in every moment, feel like you were the only one there and that you were the most important person there,” White said.
White said she will go into next season carrying Downer’s words with her.
“Now, everything that he taught me, I have to put it into practice,” White said. “I can’t lean on his shoulder, but only on his spirit and his guidance.”
Andrews, who is the Buccaneers General Manager as well as Downer’s partner, called out a phrase Coach D often used with his athletes to remind them to keep their head in the game.
“Eyes up!” Andrews said to the crowd.
“Coach D!” they responded, releasing balloons in the Buccaneers team colors.
Downer’s family organized a GoFundMe campaign to cover the cost of funeral arrangements. So far, the campaign has raised over $12,000.
