The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

KENU Adderley was remembered by relatives yesterday as a selfless and hardworking man who was loved by all who knew him.

Adderley, a 26-year-old graduate of the University of New Haven, died days after being involved in a fatal traffic accident in New Haven, Connecticut on April 9.

His friend, Raymond Rolle, Jr, who was in the passenger seat — died on the day of the crash.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Adderley’s mother said she was at home when she first received the news of the crash from US police. She told The Tribune her son died on Sunday.

“Before, I never thought of losing him or him going or the fact that he wouldn’t have gotten better. The only thing I thought of is him getting healed, but he didn’t,” Paula Adderley said.

She said while her son’s death has been a hard pill to swallow, she is comforted in knowing he is resting in a better place.

“I am strong because God gave me time to come and sit and communicate with my son to make sure that his soul was right and that’s what (has) me in peace and the opportunity I had, Raymond’s mom didn’t have,” she added.

“I had the opportunity to sit and to speak and to tell him about God and to let him know if he hasn’t gotten his soul right that was the time to make sure and get it right even though he was hurting and even though he was in pain, he had to first trust in God to know what has happened.

“So, God gave me the opportunity to spend that week with him to comfort him in that area to make sure the pain he was in, mummy was there to be with him and I got that peace knowing I could have done that so that is what is making me strong.”

She also spoke of her son’s character, describing him as a “quiet, well mannered” man.

“He was selfless because he always thought of other people. He was reliable. He was dependable. He was a person that was very quiet. He was well mannered and I never had one problem with him yet. There are so many words that I can describe, but he was hard-working and awesome,” she said.

“For people who don’t know him, he was mentoring Raymond. Raymond looked up to him. Raymond’s mother called my son in order for him to connect with him after coming to Connecticut. He made sure Raymond could’ve gone to the food store and gotten what he needed and he was always that type of person. He always thought of others.”

According to reports, sometime around 3.30 am on April 9, workers from the New Haven Fire Department were called to the intersection of Congress Avenue and College Street where a black Chevrolet Cruz was significantly damaged from hitting a tree.

Fire crews worked to put out the flames of the actively burning vehicle and remove both men using the jaws of life.

Paramedics and medical teams confirmed that one of the passengers, Rolle, died of his injuries. He was a 21-year-old student of the University of New Haven.