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Northville skatepark honoring 20-year-old hit-and-run victim helps build unity

NORTHVILLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Unity Skatepark in Northville Township is near completion.

The park was built in honor of a young man who was killed while skateboarding back in 2020.

“It was the worst nightmare ever,” said the mother of the young man killed, Gabriella Duhn. “You think you couldn’t imagine it until it happens to you.”

Dominic Duhn, 20, had a serious passion for skateboarding. It’s so sad that that’s how he would die -- skateboarding downhill when a hit-and-run driver killed him.

Instead of falling deeper into grief, Dominic’s Mother, Gabriella, and brother Enzo decided to do something in hopes of preventing anyone else from meeting that same fate.

That’s when the concept of Unity Skatepark was born.

“Actually, it was Dominic’s younger brother and one of Dominic’s good friends that took it upon themselves very early on,” Gabriella said. “They started petitioning the township for the skatepark. So, it really it was their idea.”

“It’s nice to finally see it put together,” said Enzo. “I mean, we still gave some landscaping to take care of. But it’s nice to see the final product. And I think, come summertime, a lot of people are going to enjoy it.”

Part of the reason why this place will be called Unity Skatepark is because he had a wide variety of friends that he loved to bring together.

“He was always known for bringing his friends together, and then it took such a wide range of people to make this possible, so it just made more sense to call it unity,” Gabriella said.

It took an entire team to make this solution a reality. Jeff Scroggs is one of the people who helped design the park.

“We just wanted it to be an extra fun park that wasn’t too intimidating, that had something for all age groups, and I think we got pretty close to the mark,” said Scroggs. “It’s just something for really all ages. That’s what we were shooting for. There’s definitely no limitation to what you can do out here.”

Andy Whitmire, the owner of Executive Landscape, also had a special hand in ensuring the park was welcoming with a hangout spot for everyone to mingle.

“That’s the kind of community that Northville is,” said Andy. “It’s a big community, but it’s very small at the same time. So when you see things like this and things like this happen, it’s just what we do. And to see it come to fruition is just been amazing.”

“We’re going to have benches with backing for old people,” Gabriella said. “Then there’s going to be these raised boxes with turf in the center where kids can just hang out, lay back and look at the sun and just kinda hang out whether they’re a skateboarder or not. We want to make sure it’s inviting for everyone.”

Another hope for the park is for it to be a place of relief for teens who may be going through things mentally.

“We found that it helps with mental health, which we thought, wow, this is great timing because we realize there’s a mental health crisis with the youth,” Gabriella said. “So, not only will it give kids a safe space to skateboard, but it’s gonna give them a safe space just to kind of hang out.”

At the end of the day, it’s a place for all to find peace and acceptance. Boyd Fuller nearly traveled an hour to skate the park after hearing the story of its creation.

“I was actually on Instagram, and I came across it just on social media,” said Fuller. “I saw the whole page. I looked through, saw what happened, and honestly, I couldn’t believe it was so close to town.”

Like so many others, Fuller can’t wait for the grand opening and warmer weather.

“This honestly is probably the best skatepark in Michigan, and the concrete is so smooth,” Fuller said. “All of the quarter pipes are super mellow. If you’re like me and still learning, you can come out here and practice. If you fall, it’s not going to be too bad.”

“He would just be so excited and really kind of laugh because he had such a great sense of humor,” Gabriella said. “He’d be like, ‘Mom, this is crazy,’ but he would definitely be very proud of all this.”

“I think he would just be grateful that his life meant something, and he’s able to give others an experience and bring others together even beyond the grave, you know,” Enzo said.

“Not only has he carried us, but he sent us angels to help us with this,” Gabriella said. “Because, we know we couldn’t have done this alone. I mean it literally took a village to get this done.”

Please Do not skate the park until the Grand Opening in May.


About the Author
Victor Williams headshot

Victor Williams joined Local 4 News in October of 2019 after working for WOIO in Cleveland, OH, WLOX News in Biloxi, MS, and WBBJ in Jackson, TN. Victor developed a love for journalism after realizing he was a great speaker and writer at an early age.

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