By james art A boy seriously injured when his ATV was hit and run in west Birmingham has died.
Brylen Hardy, who just turned 13 on Sept. 20, died Tuesday at Children’s of Alabama. His death came three days after the Ensley crash.
“He was just a sweet kid,” said his grieving mother, Vanessa Riggs. “He was always smiling.”
Brylen sat on her four-wheeler on a sidewalk on Avenue E in her father’s neighborhood Saturday night. He, his father and brothers had just finished riding, a family activity they enjoyed doing whenever they could.
It was about 6:45 p.m. when shots were fired nearby, in the 2400 block of Avenue D.
Birmingham police said a vehicle fleeing the scene of the shooting struck the child.
The driver who hit the child fled on foot, but Birmingham City Police officers apprehended him a few blocks from the scene.
No formal charges have yet been announced, but police said the investigation is ongoing by the BPD’s Traffic Homicide Unit.
Brylen’s mother, Vanessa Riggs, said her son was about to put the ATV away for the night.
Brylen Hardy, 13, died Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, three days after a vehicle fleeing the scene of a shooting struck him while he was sitting on his ATV.(Exclusive to AL.com)
“A guy driving erratically, going 60 or more on the road, I don’t know if he went through a pothole or hit a curb, but he lost control, went over the curb and hit my baby,” Riggs said.
Ruggs rushed to the scene, but by the time he got there, Brylen had already been taken to the Alabama Children’s Center.
Braylen stopped and started breathing several times, and once at the hospital he was put on a ventilator.
The impact of the collision injured Braylen’s lungs and head, and he also suffered a broken leg and broken arm.
“We were trying to see if God would turn it around,” Riggs said.
On Tuesday, after multiple tests showed a lack of brain activity, the family decided they didn’t want to watch Braylen suffer any longer.
“The only thing keeping him down was the breathing machine,” she said. “I just decided to let it go to be an angel.”
Braylen was in seventh grade at Bush Hills Academy, where he had just made the school’s basketball team after previously playing for The Birmingham Blaze Athletic Organization.
“They were going to play their first game and he was excited about it,” Riggs said.
Brylen Hardy, 13, died Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, three days after a vehicle fleeing the scene of a shooting struck him while he was sitting on his ATV.(Exclusive to AL.com)
Brylen loved to play video games and loved to eat – especially six-piece soft-serve wings with Cajun Ranch cheese fries.
“He was just a happy kid,” his mother said.
Braylen also loved school.
“His teacher called me one time and said, ‘Let me tell you about Braylen and these little girls, he’s popular here,'” Riggs said with a laugh.
“His principal came to the hospital on Monday and Braylen was doing very well in school,” she said, adding that he will be able to enter Ramsey High School, which is the family’s goal for him.
Braylen leaves behind three brothers and one sister who also mourn the loss of the little boy they left behind.
“He loved spending time with his family,” his mother said. “He was just a fun kid.”
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