Family questioning removal of memorial for teen killed in crash

Taylor Harris
·2 min read
5

UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. – In September 2023, three Ladue students, including Deion Robinson, were killed when they crashed into a University City home. Now, the memorial of Robinson at the crash site has been removed.

“What harm is this doing? Is it an eye sore? Are you telling me this is an eye sore? Because it’s not. It’s a heart sore for me, you know, forever,” Brandon Robinson, father of Deion, said.

Deion’s father has been searching for the answer as to why families were not informed about the removal of the memorial, prompting Alderwoman Sharon Tyus to address the issue.

“I have my paperwork right here. I was told that they were getting complaints. We took it down. During that six or seven months cause its now almost been eight months, we never heard from any of the parents saying, ‘Hey, is this alright?'” Tyus said. “This is our private property. We could have taken it down that same day but we know people were coming out here.”

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Alderwoman Tyus informed FOX 2 about the court orders requiring the removal of the the memorial due to local residents complaints. Despite standing for over seven months, only deflated balloons and stuffed animals were left.

“Riding by there and seeing the trash can with things no longer there, it’s very heartbreaking because the things that were left there are not trash,” Robinson said.

As Deion’s 16th birthday approaches, his father expressed frustration at the lack of updates from University City regarding his son’s case. The alderwoman also confirmed receiving no information from University City about the matter.

FOX 2 reached out to University City for comment but has not received a response yet.

The victim’s father expressed a desire for the families to retrieve the items from the memorial, while the alderwoman noted that harsh weather conditions had significantly depleted the items.

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