Homeowner Asks for Memorial of Mahomet Teen Taken Down
Updated: February 21, 2012
MAHOMET - A mother is upset after a homeowner asked for her son's
memorial to come down. Austin Dyson, 16, died in January after he lost
control of his van and crashed into a tree. Family and friends made a
memorial under the tree where the accident happened. The tree sits on
private property.
"I'm sorry that this happened in front of somebody's $400,000 property, but the fact is I have lost my son," said Emily Dyson, Austin's mother.
On January 27, Dyson's son was driving down Golf Drive in Mahomet when he lost control on a curve and crashed into a tree. Two other passengers were in the van and were taken to the hospital.
The accident happened on a Mahomet resident's front lawn. Right after the accident, people started placing flowers, a cross, a game controller and other items significant the the Mahomet-Seymour Junior.
"I'm angry, I just want somewhere to come and I come here everyday, it's just somewhere need to be because this is the last place my son was," explained Dyson.
Her family friend, Rick Zindars and his wife, received a phone call from Homeowners Association asking them to remove the memorial.
"It was kind of a shock, I mean it wasn't the homeowners association, it was the property owner that wanted it out because there was too much traffic," explained Rick Zindars.
The president of the association said the family has been understanding and want's to take care of the charred and splintered tree. Zindars said he was asked to remove the memorial before Tuesday, he removed it on Sunday.
"It is awkward because if it happened somewhere else it may not be such a big deal but it is because it's someone's home," explained Dyson. "It's such an eyesore where a cross was and some flowers that's an eyesore, I apologize, that's the fact of the matter, but this is where it happened."
WCIA 3 News tried to contact the homeowner, but did not hear back.
Zindars said he's working on either getting a stone near the tree or a street named after Austin to keep his memory alive.
"I'm sorry that this happened in front of somebody's $400,000 property, but the fact is I have lost my son," said Emily Dyson, Austin's mother.
On January 27, Dyson's son was driving down Golf Drive in Mahomet when he lost control on a curve and crashed into a tree. Two other passengers were in the van and were taken to the hospital.
The accident happened on a Mahomet resident's front lawn. Right after the accident, people started placing flowers, a cross, a game controller and other items significant the the Mahomet-Seymour Junior.
"I'm angry, I just want somewhere to come and I come here everyday, it's just somewhere need to be because this is the last place my son was," explained Dyson.
Her family friend, Rick Zindars and his wife, received a phone call from Homeowners Association asking them to remove the memorial.
"It was kind of a shock, I mean it wasn't the homeowners association, it was the property owner that wanted it out because there was too much traffic," explained Rick Zindars.
The president of the association said the family has been understanding and want's to take care of the charred and splintered tree. Zindars said he was asked to remove the memorial before Tuesday, he removed it on Sunday.
"It is awkward because if it happened somewhere else it may not be such a big deal but it is because it's someone's home," explained Dyson. "It's such an eyesore where a cross was and some flowers that's an eyesore, I apologize, that's the fact of the matter, but this is where it happened."
WCIA 3 News tried to contact the homeowner, but did not hear back.
Zindars said he's working on either getting a stone near the tree or a street named after Austin to keep his memory alive.
