Classmates, friends hold vigil for 21-year-old killed in crash
ZELIENOPLE — The mood at Zelienople Community Park on Saturday evening, June 29, was a mix of mourning and celebration, as friends and classmates came out to celebrate the life of Kaden Broadus.
Broadus, 21, of Harrisville, died on June 22 in a vehicle crash in Slippery Rock Township. His friends, many of whom knew him from school, were understandably shocked when they received the news that night.
One of those friends was Jacob Weber, who knew Broadus for at least six years and kept up their friendship even after the two left Seneca Valley Senior High School.
“There were days that we would be up all night on the phone talking,” Weber said. “There would even be days that we would go out at 2, 3, 4 in the morning just to go hang out, buddy-buddy, me and him alone.”
As most of Broadus’ friends testified, he was known for his humor, and Weber said he found this out from the moment the two met.
“It was the funniest place that I met him. I met him down in the high school bathroom,” Weber said. “I bumped into him and I forget what he said, but he said some funny line. When I found him after school, we basically just linked up.”
Weber organized Saturday night’s vigil along with another one of Broadus’ friends, Jonathan Ruby, who knew Broadus for about a year and a half. While the two did not go to school together, they struck up a friendship shortly after they first met one day in a parking lot.
“We always drove around, did adventures, exploring other places,” Ruby said. “We always went around together.”
The vigil opened with an address from Pastor Omar Ross of Victory Family Church, which Broadus frequently attended.
“In the brief time that I've had to speak with some of you tonight, I can absolutely see that he had an opportunity to be able to impact your life, and you his,” Ross said. “First and foremost, he is in a wonderful place right now, and we truly believe that he is celebrated.”
Many of Broadus’ friends and classmates took the chance to step up to the microphone at Saturday night’s vigil to remember Broadus, including Diego Ochoa, who broke down in tears at the end of his speech.
“I know if he was here today, he would want us to smile. He was never a person who wanted things to be bad,” Ochoa said. “When my grandfather passed away, he was there, making jokes here and there to keep the mood up. I just ask that you remember him for how he was and who he was. He was a very good and honorable man.”
After a closing sermon from Pastor Larry Lambert, Broadus’ friends proceeded to the nearby baseball field at the community park to light and release numerous lanterns into the sky, each of which was inscribed with a message for Broadus.
“I want to thank Pastor Larry and Pastor Omar of Victory Family Church for coming out to speak,” said Jacob’s mother, Kelly Weber.
