Last Wednesday, 12-year-old Jacob Medina choked to death at the Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School in Yonkers. Those who knew Medina say they’ll remember his humor and his kindness.
Diomari Caraway, who said she watched him grow up alongside her own kids, will remember the macaroni and cheese.
“I can say that every time he went to my house, he wanted me to make him mac and cheese, and his mom would text me and say, ‘Don’t make him mac and cheese because he's gonna get fat’. I can listen to the song ‘Scooby Doo Pa Pa’ and I can picture him dancing to that song, because he loved that song so much. Every time I think of that song, I see him dancing,” Caraway said smiling.
Like many who spoke outside of the wake held on Tuesday, Caraway said Medina was a happy kid.
“He loved to dance. I would say that he was always making jokes. He was just like his dad when his dad was little. He was a very happy boy, very fun to be. He adored his grandma. He was so playful and we love him. We love him. And the whole community is devastated. We’re gonna miss him,” Caraway said.
Mason is Medina’s friend and said they met through their parent’s workplace. He took a moment to gather his thoughts.
“Jacob was such a sweet kid. He made a bunch of jokes that were hilarious. He always joked around when we played games like ping pong. He was an amazing kid, too.” said Mason.
Mason said he’ll remember playing all day with Medina, “when it was Bring Your Kid to Work Day, and we spent basically the whole day with each other. It was really, really fun.”
Medina died June 10, after choking on a doughnut at school. Yonkers Public Schools Superintendent Anibal Soler, Jr. said at a press conference last week that an adult reacted within seconds after Medina began choking and that EMTs and police arrived in minutes. The sixth-grade student was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s Medical hospital.
There has been speculation that Medina choked while attempting a “one bite” challenge circulating on social media, but this has not been confirmed, and an investigation continues.
Meanwhile, Soler said, the community is mourning Medina’s loss including Medina’s classmates.
“The classmates have been fantastic. They are writing letters to mom, to dad, to the family, to recognize him. They are just trying to stay focused in the joy. Try to remember some of them have been with him since Pre-K. This young man was a bright light in the building. Everybody loved him. Everybody knew him. He was energy. He was joy,” Soler said.
Coach Larry Hamilton, with the Colts Youth Club in Yonkers, said Medina was a joy to work with.
"He was a great teammate. He was fun to coach and he loved soccer. I've coached him for probably four seasons, fall and spring. It’s recreational. And when he comes to practice, he's just pleasant, calm. When the other kids were yelling and screaming, he was always the calm one. And you know, he played hard. He loves to play defense, because when I put him out in the other positions where it required a lot more running, he didn't want to run. He'd rather stay back and play defense. He was a real good defender, so whenever we have the matches, he's the first one for my defender. I'm gonna really miss that kid.”
Medina’s teammate Cameron attested to his defense skills, “The thing about Jacob is he was a really good player on the team and good at defending. We miss him.”
“My best memory about him was us passing the ball and celebrating a goal,” Cameron said.
Medina’s fellow defender, Brandon O’Neal, said Medina was always the kindest person, “He was a really nice kid, sweet kid, always nice to each other. In my heart, I'll always remember him.”
