13-year-old dies after ATV hits fleeing driver in Birmingham shooting: ‘He was always smiling’

A boy who was seriously injured when his quad bike was involved in a crash on Birmingham’s west side has died.

Braylen Hardy, who just turned 13 on Sept. 20, died Tuesday at the Alabama Child Advocacy Center. His death came three days after the Ensley accident.

“He was just a sweet kid,” said his grieving mother, Vanessa Riggs. “He was always smiling.”

Braylen was sitting on his four-wheeler on the sidewalk on Avenue E in his father’s neighborhood Saturday night. He, dad and brothers had just finished riding horses, a family activity they enjoyed every chance they got.

It was around 6:45 p.m. when shots rang out nearbyin the 2400 block of Avenue D.

Birmingham police said a car fleeing the scene of the shooting hit the child.

The driver who hit the child fled on foot but was apprehended by Birmingham City Police a few blocks away.

No formal charges have yet been announced, but police said the investigation is ongoing by the BPD’s Traffic Homicide Unit.

Braylen’s mother, Vanessa Riggs, said her son was going to park the ATV overnight.

“The guy that was driving was going 60 or more down the road, I don’t know if he went over the pothole or hit the curb, but he lost control and jumped the curb and hit my child,” Riggs said.

Ruggs rushed to the scene, but by the time she got there, Braylen had already been taken to the Alabama Children’s Center.

Brylen stopped and started breathing several times and was put on a ventilator at the hospital.

As a result of the collision, Braylen’s lungs and head were damaged, and he also suffered broken legs and arms.

“We were trying to see if God was going to change it for the better,” Riggs said.

On Tuesday, after multiple tests showed no brain activity, the family decided they didn’t want Braylen to suffer any longer.

“The only thing keeping him going was the breathing apparatus,” she said. “I just decided to let him 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.

Braylen loved to play video games and loved to eat – especially six soft wings with Cajun cheese fries.

“He was just a happy kid,” his mom said.

Braylen also loved school.

“I got a call from his teacher one day and said, ‘Let me tell you about Braylen and these little girls, he’s popular around here,'” Riggs said with a laugh.

“His principal came to the hospital on Monday and Braylen was doing really well,” she said, adding that he would be able to enter Ramsay High School, which was the family’s goal for him.

Braylen leaves behind three brothers and a sister who also mourn the loss of the little boy.

“He loved spending time with his family,” his mother said. “He was just a fun kid.”

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