Family and friends memorialize fatal Avory’s birthday
Avory Glover’s birthday
Family, friends and supporters gathered on Tuesday at Bucklin Park to celebrate what would have been the 14th birthday of Avory Glover, who was killed in a hit-and-run collision on April 4, 2015 in El Centro.
The celebration was the first time that his surviving family had commemorated Avory’s birthday since his passing, said his mother, Charla Huggins.
The evening’s relatively high temperature had prompted Huggins to recall that Avory had been the only one of her children to be born in the summer.
Despite the Valley’s high summer temps, it was rare to find Avory, a native of Arkansas, indoors.
“He loved to play outside,” Huggins said. “He would always run home to get some popsicles or drinks for him and his friends.”
The mood was a joyous one, as family and friends chatted over hamburgers and hot dogs while they sat under the shade of a ramada in a park that was mostly empty except for the occasional jogger or walker.
Although Avory wasn’t much of a fan of watching TV, some of the balloons affixed to the park benches were adorned with Spider Man.
A cake decorated with minions, from the popular movie “Despicable Me,” was also made for the occasion, serving to remind those gathered of Avory’s relatively young age at the time of his death, Huggins said.
Afterward, the crowd huddled together and exclaimed “Happy Birthday” as Huggins released multiple balloons into the air in honor of Avory.
Avory had been killed by a hitand-run collision in April 2015 as he and two friends were walking down a darkened Dealwood Road east of Dogwood Road. A 57-year-old El Centro resident, James Edward Killian, was recently sentenced to three years in prison for his role in the fatal incident.
Vincent Robert Montez was with Avory the night of the tragic incident, and to this day has been struggling to deal with the aftermath of the ordeal, as he stated during Killian’s sentencing hearing on July 11.
On Tuesday, the soon-to-be 17-year-old was in good spirits as he hung out at the park with Avory’s older brother, Jamil Glover, reminiscing.
Vincent and Avory were both part of a larger group of friends who gathered daily to do what teenage boys often are accustomed to do, and in their specific case often involved daring one another to do outrageous acts.
“He was fearless,” Vincent said, noting that Avory often suggested some of the group’s more daring challenges.
The two had gotten to know each other about three years prior to Avory’s death, when a mutual friend introduced them to one another.
“It didn’t take long for us to be friends,” Vincent said.
Imperial Irrigation District Director Juanita Salas was also on hand Tuesday to lend her support to Avory’s surviving family.
Salas said she had also attended a few of the court hearings as a way to show support for the grieving family.
“It’s really unfortunate to hear that families in the Valley are going through these circumstances,” Salas said.
Currently, Huggins is working with the office of the Valley’s state representative to try to see whether anything can be done to stiffen penalties for individuals accused and convicted of fatal hit-and-runs. Such a law would be called Avory’s Law.