KENOSHA — A longtime Wisconsin Humane Society - Kenosha Campus volunteer is being remembered for the kindness he showed to both people and animals, after he was killed in a crash last week.
David Aiken, 67, volunteered at the Humane Society for more than two decades. Friends and coworkers say his presence at the organization became a familiar part of their days.
Cassie Culver, who works at the Humane Society and had known Aiken for about 10 years, says his death was difficult for the people who knew him.
“It was stages of grief. It didn't make any sense,” Culver said. “He was just so sweet, and wanted to talk about his cat to everyone he met."
Culver remembers Aiken as sweet, goofy and caring. She says he loved talking to everyone about his cat, who was also with him and died.
She says Aiken also had a unique ability to notice when someone around him wasn't feeling well.
Watch: Longtime Humane Society volunteer remembered after fatal Kenosha crash
“He could tell if I was having a bad allergy day just by how my voice sounded,” Culver said.
Aiken was killed in a crash last week. The woman accused in connection with his death, 21-year-old Natalie Faith Benante, appeared in court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.
Benante faces charges of second-degree reckless homicide, homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle and knowingly operating without a valid license causing death.
The criminal complaint alleges Benante was driving at a high rate of speed, crossed into oncoming traffic and struck Aiken's vehicle. Prosecutors also allege she was under the influence of cannabis and did not have a valid driver's license.
The case was bound over for trial following Tuesday's hearing.
But at the Humane Society, Culver says volunteering for more than 20 years showed how much Aiken cared about helping others.
“It takes a special kind of person to come in and do our jobs for free. That’s huge," Culver said. “Tell everyone that you love them because you never know, you never know.”
Aiken's friends say his absence is already being felt at the Humane Society, where he spent more than two decades giving his time to help animals and the people who cared for them.
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