WRBL

Family of victim in two-vehicle crash on Roanoke Rd. speaks out

LaGRANGE, Ga. (WRBL) – Rico Dunn’s family spoke for the first time since the tragic accident that left the 24-year-old LaGrange native dead in an exclusive interview with News 3. They described Dunn as caring, protective, loving, fun and the life of the party. 

“I was just with him not too long ago and then, he’s just gone and I’m never going to see him again. For me it’s really tough to even process, to me it hasn’t set in yet that I won’t see him again,” said Nick Ligon, Dunn’s brother. 

Dunn was killed in a two-vehicle crash on the 3000 block of Roanoke Rd. on Saturday, May 14. LaGrange College student-athletes, Jacob Brown and Stephen Bartolotta, were traveling westbound when Brown crossed the double yellow line and hit Dunn head-on. 

Dunn was traveling eastbound back home after celebrating his sister’s birthday on West Point Lake. 

The family told News 3 that Dunn, also known as “Man Man”, loved his family and sports. He played football and loved to fish, something that Ligon said he would like to continue. He hopes to bring the family together once a year to remember and honor his brother with a cookout and fishing. 

He said he never imagined the circumstances of the accident would be so bad when he got the call but he is hoping he can learn to accept the loss of his brother. He also hopes the community can come together to mourn all three lives lost in the tragic accident.

Dunn’s maternal aunt, LaQuita Dunn, describes the pain of losing her nephew as numbing and said it has been hard for her to process. She compared the pain of losing her nephew to the pain of losing her younger sister, Dunn’s mother, several years ago.