The Newark lifeguard was a mentor to many of the city's youth, friends said.
NEWARK -- After six years of dating, Clarence "Kayous" Hickson and Erica Blanding were set to wed on Sept. 10 -- Blanding's birthday, she said.
But early Saturday morning, Hickson -- who friends and family remembered as a down-to-earth man who loved children -- died after the motorcycle he was riding crashed into a sedan on a Route 280 exit ramp, State Police said. He was thrown from his bike and died about 2 a.m. at University Hospital.
"He was an awesome father," Blanding said, holding their 3-year-old daughter Nydira Hickson, who donned a New York Giants jersey -- her father's favorite team. "We were just talking about getting the kids stuff for school."
More than 200 bikers, family and friends gathered Saturday evening outside Newark Knights, a motorcycle club on Springfield Avenue, for a candlelit vigil to remember the 32-year-old who worked as a lifeguard at the Boylan Street Recreation Center.
Mourners lit candles around Hickson's Suzuki GSX-R1000, a bike he loved and rode to work each morning, said longtime friend Mikil McElroy, who started working at the recreation center with Hickson in 2005.
Near the end of the night, bikers revved his motorcycle as they lifted their candles and fists in the air. While blocking traffic for about a minute, riders burned-out their tires, creating a cloud of smoke that mourners took cell phone video of.
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Hickson was one of 15 people in the Black Spade Ryders motorcycle club, which he was a member of for about three years, the group's road captain Carlos Boirie said.
The 30-year-old from East Orange, who goes by biker name "Los," said Hickson was a kind-hearted person he could count on.
"He would give you the shirt off his back," Boirie said.
Hickson also adored his job at the recreation center's pool.
Nearly every morning, Hickson would stream video on Facebook Live to tell kids to get out of their homes and come to the pool on South Orange Avenue, where he served as an example and mentor for the city's youth, McElroy said.
Two hours before the vigil Saturday, lifeguards gathered around the recreation center's front desk computer, watching those videos and remembering how Hickson would often push people in the water.
The guards hung a white T-shirt against the wall of the center, which coworkers scripted memories and condolences on.
"It was a blessing working with you," one wrote.
"RIP big bro, I'm going to miss you," another penned.
City lifeguard Patrick Campbell, 21, of Newark, said Hickson taught swimming lessons to young children and water aerobics to senior citizens.
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Hickson would also frequently invite people to the pool he worked at, said Newark Knights' public relations officer, who would only identify herself as "Groove."
"All he talked about was teaching black people to swim," she said with a laugh, adding that Hickson taught her three grandsons to swim.
The Newark lifeguard has three children of his own, though he acted as a father figure for Blanding's four other children, his fiance said.
"He would always say, 'I got seven kids,'" she said.
When 11-year-old Jahquil Louis heard of Hickson's death, the boy from East Orange said he broke down in tears. For him and his 12-year-old brother Jacques Louis, Hickson wasn't just a swim instructor, but a mentor and an example to live by.
"He truly is a legend," Jahquil Louis said of Hickson, who would often attend their basketball games and take them on motorcycle rides. "He got a spot in heaven waiting for him, that's for sure."
