Baltimore County teen killed in I-83 pedestrian crash was ‘the life of the party,’ family says

The family of a 17-year-old who was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer last week on Interstate 83 near Cockeysville says the teen’s death was a suicide, and they didn’t see it coming.

“It shocked everybody. He was vocal about his struggles,” his mother Ifeoma Chime Okolo said. “We all thought he was getting better.”

KingDavid E. Okolo, of Cockeysville, was a promising student and senior at Dulaney High School. He was on track to attend college and already had been accepted to the University of Maryland, College Park, his mother said.

Maryland State Police said KingDavid “ran out onto the road” on April 20 for unknown reasons. He was struck by a tractor-trailer about 4:50 a.m. on I-83 south, just past Shawan Road. He died on the spot.

His mother said he had left his family a suicide note.

“He was really very thoughtful, caring, kind and reflective. He also was the life of the party. He loves to make everyone laugh,” Ifeoma Chime Okolo said. “He was just somebody that was very full of life.”

KingDavid Okolo was a typical teenager who loved music, dancing, playing basketball and ran track, his mother said. He also enjoyed investing in bitcoin, cryptocurrency and educating people about the stock market.

His anxiety and depression started sometime last year, Ifeoma Chime Okolo said, and he had been going to therapy sessions twice a week. Days before KingDavid died he told his parents he “was in a bad place,” his mother said.

Okolo called her son everyday at 6:30 a.m. to make sure he was up and ready for school, but he didn’t answer the phone that morning and was nowhere to be found around the house.

“I wasn’t alarmed,” Ifeoma said.

She said she thought that he must have gone jogging or was lifting weights, but she started to panic when he saw emergency crews on I-83 from her backyard.

Ifeoma ran toward the scene and asked what had happened. A paramedic told her a tractor-trailer had hit a man.

“And I said, ‘Was it a Black man?’ And he said ‘Yes.’ And I just felt it, so I started screaming,” she said.

KingDavid’s family identified his body through a pair of sneakers and one diamond stud earring that he wore, his mother said.

“One of our students was struck by a vehicle this morning and did not survive their injuries,” Dulaney High School Principal Sam Wynkoop wrote in a message to parents the day he died. “This unexpected news has been very upsetting to many of our students and staff.”

His five siblings, two older brothers and three younger sisters, are coming to terms with his death, his mother said.

“We’re a close, loving family,” she said, “so we are here for each other.”

A celebration of life will be held Friday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Lemmon Funeral Home of Dulaney Valley, 10 W. Padonia Road, in Timonium.

A funeral mass is scheduled at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 101 Church Lane, in Pikesville. The family will have repass after at 2 p.m. at their home, 715 Weil Mandel Way in Cockeysville.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. The line, 800-273-8255, is open all the time.

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