An estimated 200 people crowded onto Chelmsford skatepark on Friday (January 9) to pay tribute to a much-loved skateboarder struck deadby a car in Cyprus.
Tristan Bennett, 37, was walking back to his mother's home in the Mediterranean island after a few drinks with friends at a bar on Christmas Eve, December 24, when he is believed to have stumbled into the road and into the path of a 4x4.
Tristan, who frequently returned to Chelmsford where he lived with family in the Chignal area, leaves behind an almighty-long list of friends who remembered him for his "stylish" skating in Central Park.
Friends skated on the Central Park half-pipe, released Chinese lanterns and an impressive selection of fireworks in his memory from about 4.30pm on Friday evening.
Friend Luke Mac Duke, who organised the gathering, paid tribute to a "nomadic" soul who many will remember fondly for talking at length about conspiracy theories.
"He was a diamond of a soul and you can see today how many people he touched just in the Chelmsford area," said the 33-year-old of Kings Tower, Chelmsford, who credited Tristan with introducing him to skate parks across the South East.
"I reckon he'd be over the moon and blown away by what has gone on today, as because he often went on about conspiracy theories he worried that he pushed people away and perhaps thought he was not as part of the community as he thought he was."
Luke also paid tribute to a man who was "brave" enough to travel, with friends citing Bristol, Brighton where he studied at University, Dublin, Amsterdam and of course Cyprus as just a selection of the places he lived.
"I've been in tears for a couple of days about it, I was really cut up, it feels like you have lost a brother," said Luke, who also runs skate school Triple Swords.
Friend Nigel Davies, 39, from Rainham, said: "He was a bit of a genius. He was someone who could read three books in a night and remember all of it. There was nothing he couldn't take in."
Hundreds have paid their respects, including his little brother Toby, on a Facebook page devoted to Tristan.
The young man who's car struck Tristan is reportedly devastated.
