A Clark County family is dealing with the sudden loss of their son, but said it didn’t have to end like this.
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Pierre Damas Bel was a 20-year-old Haitian man.
He had just started college, and his family said he died by suicide.
They believe he took his own life on Monday because he had to wear an ankle monitor issued by ICE.
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“He told me how much education was important to him,” Yola Lamarre said.
Friends, family and advocates remembered Bel during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
“I am here with a very hurt, heavy heart,” Obed Benjamin said.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Bel died after he walked in front of a semi in Clark County.
The Department of Homeland Security said he came to the country legally in 2023, then was placed on the alternative to detention program with an ankle monitor on July 29.
Lamarre said Bel was depressed because of this.
“It was a great impact on his mental health, as he shared with me multiple times,” she said.
Wittenberg University Soccer team shared on social media that he was recruited to be on the team this fall, but was unable to play because of the ankle monitor.
“He was a person involved in his community taking action, and he had great leadership,” Benjamin said.
He had just started classes at Wright State University and was in the honors program.
“The only way his little brother, that is 15 years old, is surviving is because of the words that was echoed by his brother to pursue his education no matter what,” Lamarre said.
“We are heartbroken by this devastating loss. Pierre was an active honors student who was passionate about soccer and was already actively engaged in his classes and the campus community,” University President Sue Edwards said in part.
Bel’s family attended the news conference but did not want to speak themselves.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
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