Chiefs fan, aspiring NASA employee: Remembering teen killed on bicycle in Wichita
Despite mediocre seats and cold temperatures, Daniel Collier talked for years about the Dec. 29, 2019, week 17 Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
With the Chiefs’ victory and the Miami Dolphins beating the New England Patriots, Collier’s Chiefs got a first-round bye in the playoffs and went on to win its first Super Bowl in half a century.
The Chiefs have won the last two Super Bowls as well.
Collier wore No. 15 after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes when he played football.
However, Collier, a 15-year-old, was a fan long before the going was so good.
“He was a Chiefs fan before it was cool to be a Chiefs fan,” his father, Mike Collier, said. “You know, even when we were losing, you know?”
Daniel Collier died after being hit by a driver Wednesday night while riding his bicycle near 44th Street South and Hoover in southwest Wichita.
The 35-year-old Wichita woman driving the vehicle stayed on scene.
Family and Collier’s favorite teacher remembered him as an outgoing teen, who loved sports, Jordan sneakers, model cars, shop and automotive class, and he planned to one day work on rockets at NASA.
Brett Marrs was Collier’s favorite teacher at Campus High School, where Collier just finished his freshman year. Marrs taught shop. He was also Collier’s track coach.
“He always wore a smile. Very determined person to succeed and do well. Wanted to do well, wanted to please, you know, teachers and coaches, and just tried to make everybody happy,” Marrs said of Collier. “And he had personal records, you know, he set a goal every meet to break his personal PRs. Yeah, he was very goal oriented.”
Collier’s parents said their son was a handy teen.
“He was a man’s man,” Mike Collier said.
Nicole Collier added that “he was a jack of all trades.”
“He had the goofiest laugh, but it just puts you in such a good mood, especially if you knew you were having a rough day or something, he just cracked a joke and he’s laughing at it, and makes you laugh at it,” she said.
On Mother’s Day he got her flowers and an iced coffee. She told him he shouldn’t spend his money on her.
‘And he goes, ‘No, I love you, Mom, you deserve it,”’ she said.
Collier was the third of four children. He had always been on the shyer side but had become more and more outgoing as he got older.
He also started mowing lawns around the neighborhood and used the money to buy Jordan sneakers. Collier liked spending time with his grandparents, who lived nearby in a neighborhood where he also mowed lawns.
He was wearing the first pair of Jordans he ever bought with money from mowing lawns the night he was hit.
Collier was also a Disney fan. The family usually tried to go to the theme park once a year. He had his bags packed and a countdown on for the trip next month.
Neighborhood children and friends created a memorial for him where he was hit. The family plans to have him cremated.
“If we go on vacation, maybe we can take him with us or, you know, take part of it with us,” Mike Collier said.
One of Mike Collier’s coworkers set up a GoFundMe to help with medical and funeral costs. The fundraiser was at nearly $37,000 on Saturday, far above the $20,000 goal.
The fundraiser can be found at shorturl.at/YNDXU.
