His love was pure and he gave it freely.
This was the last proper picture of Ayden on his mother’s phone, taken about two weeks before his passing. He just started the “1000 Books Before Kindergarten” reading challenge at the Burlingame Public Library a few months prior, and he just finished his first hundred books. He was excited to turn in this 1-100 books sheet at the library, collect his prize, and receive the next series of sheets. He sadly never got the chance to turn in this sheet — this would be his first and last sheet. He was about to turn 4.5 years old.
The Event
On Friday August 8, 2025, a 19-year old driver in a SUV was exiting a public parking lot in Burlingame, California and pulled in front of an 11-year old on an e-bike. Due to a variety of factors, the SUV drove onto the curb and crashed fully into a restaurant. Ayden was playing with a friend right outside the restaurant, with the friend’s sister and father nearby. The SUV struck Ayden and killed him instantly.
It’s been 0 days since the event. So far, the police investigation is still pending.
All we have are memories of Ayden and his message.
Who is Ayden
Ayden said to his mother one day: “When I grow up, I want to be a daddy, I want to take care of babies and my brother.”
Mom asked, “Why?”
He replied “Because it’s nice.”
Mom said, “Are you gonna change your brother’s diapers?
He said “Yeah! That would be very nice, because playing is really nice, learning is really nice, I’m gonna do everything my brother needs. I will be a big big grown-up, I will be the biggest, bigger than mommy, bigger than daddy!”
This was the loving little boy he was and the person he could have been. The endearing way he said “I love you” to us, his parents, showed a deep sense of gratitude, appreciating our love for him. His love for his little brother was unconditional. Ever since his brother was born, Ayden adored spending time with him. He loved to make his brother laugh, and show him the simple wonders of life, like blowing a dandelion. Ayden was generous with his love. His appreciation for people and everyday things was deep, precocious for someone so young. He had trouble picking favorites - “I like everything” he would say when asked. When he received something as ordinary as new toothpaste, he would say “thank you, I love it”, clutching the tube with so much exuberance that our hearts skipped a beat. We marveled at how genuine and grateful this boy was. Four was a magical age for Ayden. He suddenly started to write, read, swim without a floatie, bike without training wheels, and sing in Spanish. He had just begun to bloom as an individual, and we suddenly had a new best friend.
Ayden was happy to be present. It felt like he wanted to embrace the world and take it all in. He had a big heart. There was so much he could have held and given.
A friend told us in reaction to his passing, “Oh no! Ayden was so kind, he was going to change the world one day.”
We would like to think he is already changing the world, inspiring us to be more and do more, as we keep his spirit alive through his memorial library, scholarships and ways to protect our city.
Ayden’s Message
Two days before his passing, Ayden insisted on doing something different after dinner. Instead of reading or playing ball with his brother, he wanted to play with Legos.
With a sense of purpose, he said he wanted to build something. He then made a tower that he was so proud of that he wanted to take a photo with it.
Instead of breaking down the tower and putting the Legos away like he usually does, he insisted on putting this creation on top of the family room mantel himself, among his other art works.
It wasn’t until a week after his passing, an hour before his cremation, that we suddenly noticed his tower’s resemblance to a monument. With a closer look, we saw two of the blocks* contained a simple but powerful message - “Protect Our City”.
It gave us chills, but also gave us some purpose.
* These were non-Lego brand blocks from a San Francisco Sea Wall Project event. Other such blocks of the same color had writing of “Port of San Francisco", “Save Our Seawall”.
Memorial Library
Immediately after the event, a makeshift memorial at the crash site and a
Gofundme
page were started by the community. The memorial was filled with notes of love, hundreds of bouquets of flowers, and over 100 stuffed animals which we donated to a local hospital.
We held a candle light vigil at the memorial and more than 300 people attended, including family, friends, first responders, and many we never met.
Strangers gave us long hugs and said “we love you, we are here for you.” The community clearly feels our pain, and we are moved beyond our imagination.
Ayden was generous with his toys, books, laughter and heart whether with friends or strangers. The Little Free Library is a symbol of learning, sharing, and community, which are everything Ayden was and stood for.
In giving back to the community and honoring Ayden, we established a Little Free Library at the crash site
as a temporary memorial. We are grateful for the donation of books from the Burlingame Public Library.
Longer term, we aim to place a more permanent memorial at the crash site, one that would honor Ayden’s life and values, and one that would protect the sidewalk for fellow community members.
Scholarships
Ayden was a thinker, school and library were his natural habitats. As a 3 year old, he made the astute statement that the airplane engine is outside, the train engine is in front, the boat engine is in the belly, then asked where the BART engine was. As a 4 year old, he asked where water came from, what stars were made of. He loved to learn, and he watched older children with admiration for their maturity and abilities. The day he received his very first workbook and pencil at school, his face beamed, bursting with joy and pride. During summer break, he was so excited to get up early so he could do his workbook. One day, we talked about how our family is connected, and the children are part of the parents, then he proceeded to say “mommy is also part of daddy, and everyone is part of everyone.” We replied “yes, we are all stardust.” He then cheered with a “Yeah!”
To honor his passion and compassion, a scholarship program at FSM Montessori where Ayden went to school has been established using
Gofundme proceeds.
The amazing teachers, lovable classmates, and close-knit parent community form our extended family. We are very fortunate to have had Ayden there and hope more families and kids get to have a similar experience. His teacher, Mrs. Amna Rehmane wrote a tribute for Ayden.
In addition, through the support of Ayden’s father's work, there is an endowed scholarship at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Foundation.
Being stardust himself, he was fascinated with rocketry and wanted to be an astronaut. We hope this will pique other kids’ interest in STEM education and help realize their childhood dreams.
Protect Our City
Ayden’s event is the 3rd traffic related pedestrian fatality in Burlingame over the past ~12 months. Out of a population of ~31,000, it’s comparable to statistics in countries like Armenia and Georgia and is double that of Russia’s. It’s also 4x the national average in the U.S. Needless to say, something needs to be done.
The unnecessary trauma that our families, friends, neighbors, and first responders have to face so frequently is unimaginable. In due course, we want to unite and gather strength from everyone to improve road safety for Ayden's brother, for Ayden's friends, and for Ayden's community.
Please stay tuned.
A Teacher's Tribute
I have been a Montessori teacher for 33 years and teaching children 3-6 years old is my passion. When I met Ayden for the first time in August 2023, I was so impressed by his intrinsic self-control, ability to listen to and follow directions, motivation to work with different classroom materials, and pure innocence, that he became the first ever two-and-a-half-year-old child to join FSM Montessori!
As the new school year began in September 2023 and I got to know Ayden, I knew my teacher’s instincts about this little boy were correct; he was an amazing student! A teacher’s dream! He was excited about learning, followed directions, and enjoyed practicing newly learned skills.
As Ayden grew, I observed that he had a kind heart and he was emotionally mature for his age. Whenever, there was a conflict between two students and they needed a break from each other, I could seat one of them with Ayden as he had such a calm and pleasant personality. When younger children joined our school, and were going through the initial emotional transition, Ayden was my go to child, my little helper because of who he was.
Ayden was a thinking child; when I asked him a question or asked him to choose something, he would take a moment to consider and then answered or made a choice and was at peace with his decision. One day he woke up from his nap and was sitting with me not fully awake yet and asked me, “Mrs. Rehmane, will you always stay here?” I replied, “Of course, this is my home.” He kept looking at me and asked again, “No, will you always stay here forever?” I asked, “Ayden do you mean will I stay here when you graduate from FSM and go to a bigger school and when you are all grown up?” He said, “Yes!” My reply was, “I hope to stay here so you can come and visit me.” He just nodded.
Ayden was also a sweet and joyful little boy who was full of life, saw the funny side of things and loved to laugh, sing, make up pretend games, and play with his classmates. He was attending soccer, jiu-jitsu, and swimming classes. He loved to swim and recently told me that he could swim like a fish!
At such a young age Ayden could make the distinction between work time and play time. He got along with all his classmates easily and was loved by all, teachers and children alike.
As we grieve the loss of our beloved Ayden and try to make sense of this devastating tragedy, I am grateful that I was his teacher and Ayden spent 2 whole years of his young life at FSM Montessori. Ayden left us two weeks ago but our school is filled with his memories, his singing, and his laughter.
Ayden, my happy boy, we love you and miss you!
Ayden, you live in our hearts now!
Amna Rehmane
Ayden’s Teacher
FSM Montessori
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