A Fairfield University senior has died in a motor vehicle accident that occurred on North Benson Road on May 18.
Vice President of Student Affairs Thomas Pellegrino announced in an email the death of Deandre Lawton ’13, a student in the Dolan School of Business. Lawton died from injuries sustained when his 2009 Ford Fusion crashed into a tree near the university’s main entrance at around 4:30 a.m. on May 18. He was transported to the Bridgeport Hospital but was later pronounced dead, according to the police.
The 21-year-old was raised in Brockton, Mass., and attended Boston College High School. Lawton was an active member of Omega Phi Kappa Fraternity, Inc, a fraternity that seeks to increase the exposure of diversity and to promote scholastic, personal and professional growth. He was set to graduate from Fairfield with a bachelor of science degree in finance on Sunday, May 19.
Pellegrino said that the staff in counseling services, Campus Ministry and Residence Life are available to assist and talk to students.
Hours after the news surfaced about Lawton’s death, students expressed their sorrows on social media. Friends and classmates have described Lawton as “a great person” and “the realest person at Fairfield.” One tweet said, “…never saw that kid without a smile on his face.”
Junior Guerdy Jean-Poix was a close friend of Lawton and was also in the same fraternity. He wrote in his Facebook status: “Your loss hurts me extremely and it really hasn’t sunk it yet. We were one in the same bro. We were raised in the same streets of Boston and we never hesitated to rep that. We walked through the same hallways of BC High. We both traveled out to Fairfield to chase success. We both majored in finance. We crossed into the same fraternity.
“You were the most genuine person I ever met. You called things how they were and were loyal to those close to you. I’m proud of you Dre. God put you in my life for a special reason. Now it’s time for God to laugh at your jokes as well,” he wrote.
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Pellegrino said of this event, “This is one of those moments in life that are impossible to comprehend. But it is an event that provides a positive reminder of the beauty of one life that was fundamentally about laughter and joy. Deandre bears witness to that beauty and the need to treat life as a precious gift.
“For seniors, this weekend has always been about an inward reflection on what you bring to the world in terms of your own unique gifts, as well as an outward giving of those gifts to others. Gifts to be shared with and for others. Men and women with and for others has never been exemplified more clearly for us than it is on this weekend. It is a time to mourn, a time to remember, but it is also a time to laugh, and a time to proceed with life,” he said.Deandre Lawton‘s wake, church service, and burial will all be on Saturday in Boston.
On Saturday, May 25, Lawton will be buried at the Roxbury Presbyterian Church, 328 Warren St., in Roxbury, Mass. The viewing will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. He will be remembered from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Burial will begin around 2 p.m.
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