Friends and relatives of 12-year-old Mikey Malanda say his final ride last weekend was part of a familiar routine—something he had done nearly every Sunday for years. He set off from home on his dirt bike, headed to a nearby gas station to fuel up before meeting friends to ride his pedal bike around the neighborhood.
Mikey had learned to carefully navigate the narrow roads of his northwest Charlotte community, especially the busy crossing at Oakdale and Auten roads—just as his aunt had always taught him. But around 1 p.m. on Sunday, tragedy struck. Authorities say Mikey’s bike collided with a pickup truck at that very intersection. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
“He just went out to grab a little gas so he could enjoy something that brought him joy,” said his aunt, Laure Makiona. “We never imagined that would be the last time we’d see him.”
The heartbreaking crash came only weeks after Mikey had wrapped up sixth grade at Lake Norman Charter School in Huntersville, where he’d been enrolled since kindergarten. Investigators with Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are still reviewing what caused the collision. As of now, no charges have been filed.
Mikey had been on his way to a gas station he’d visited countless times—first with his father before he was old enough to ride on his own. It was just minutes from the house he shared with his dad, also named Mike Malanda. The two bonded over their favorite film, Charm City Kings, a movie about a Baltimore teen chasing his dream of joining a local group of stunt riders.
That same home is where Mikey’s first bike—a small 5-volt electric model—was delivered. He was thrilled then, just as he was later when his mother, Amie Malanda, saved up to surprise him with a bigger, faster model: the very one he was riding that Sunday.
“He’d been fascinated with motorcycles since he was two,” said his father. “He loved riding bikes and showing off his tricks.”
‘Big Mike’ at Lake Norman Charter
Though Mikey was an only child, his cousins saw him as a true brother, and his aunts embraced him like a son. He spent endless afternoons on the field with his 15-year-old cousin, Tiger Mukendi, playing lacrosse and comparing heights—Mikey couldn’t wait to catch up. Mukendi had been coaching him ahead of tryouts, and Mikey was eager to join the school’s lacrosse team that coming fall.
