Crash victim was car enthusiast, loyal friend
The 20-year-old Windsor man who died in a burning vehicle in Lakeshore last weekend was a quiet but kind-hearted guy who liked rap music and cars, say those who knew him.
A service for Bailey Major will be held at the South Windsor location of Families First at the end of the week.
“He was kind of shy. He kept to himself and stayed with his friends,” said Felicia Thivierge, a friend of Major since Grade 9. “It was hard for him to open up to people. But once he did — he was amazing.”
Thivierge said she’s been thinking about a Facebook conversation she had with Major just two days before his death. “He told me that his friend was messing with his phone. We just started catching up on things, and how he was. He was going camping. He loved camping. He went every weekend, almost.”
Along with being reserved in public, Major had a stubborn streak, Thivierge said.
“It wasn’t like a bad stubborn. If his friend needed something, he’d put his friend before himself,” she said.
“He was always there, no matter what time, no matter what you needed. He was that person you’d want to call.”
Since Major’s graduation from St. Joseph’s Catholic High School, he took odd jobs, including a stint unloading cargo at Windsor airport.
“He didn’t know what exactly he wanted to do,” Thivierge said.
“We were just talking about it. He said he wanted to look into an apprenticeship. Something with mechanics. That was his favourite thing — working on cars.”
OPP have not provided further information about the single-vehicle collision that took Major’s life.
On Sunday night, Major was behind the wheel of his SUV in the Lakeshore area, heading north on Naylor Sideroad near South Middle Road.
Sometime before 5:45 p.m., Major’s vehicle left the roadway and crashed into a ditch, where it came to rest upside down.
Witnesses said there was an explosion and the vehicle burst into flames.
Major was pronounced dead at the scene.
Major is survived by his mother, father, stepmother, two sisters, a brother, three grandparents, two great-grandparents, and many more extended family members.
Visitation will take place Thursday at Families First from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. A service will be held at Families First on Friday, starting 10 a.m. Online condolences and charitable donations can be shared at familiesfirst.ca.