Family speaks out after North Smithfield man dies in dirt bike crash
by NBC 10 NEWS
NORTH SMITHFIELD, R.I. (WJAR) — A North Smithfield family is mourning after a man was killed in a dirt bike accident.
Jeff Cabral, 42, was at a track in Brookfield on Tuesday riding with his 17-year-old son Caiden, when he hit a bump, and landed on the handlebars.
Cabral’s family said he passed doing one of the things he loved most.
His long-time girlfriend Danika Hardwood, said he took his last breaths in the arms of his son.
“They think that he went to go off of a jump, and maybe didn’t make it all the way, and they think that he broke his arm and maybe got hit in the chest with the handlebars,” said Hardwood.
She said Cabral died before he made it to the hospital.
Hardwood said they had taken in Caiden over the last year, and the pair began bonding over their their love for dirt bikes, auto repairs and everything outdoors.
After the crash, Caiden, told Hardwood his dad had been bought an engagement ring, and was preparing to propose to her.
“I opened the drawer, and there was a little box in the back of the drawer, and this was in it. I just would have, loved to see him actually propose,” she said.
Still through the grief, Hardwood said Cabral’s legacy will live on.
“Everybody loved him, everybody. He had, I mean he had so many people that he knows, and so many friends,” she said.
A GoFundMe was created to help the family with funeral expenses.
Hardwood said the community’s support for him has been overwhelming.
Though the immediate future is uncertain, her priority is ensuring Caiden graduates from his high school in North Smithfield.