Car, truck show held in memory of Zachary Dube

TORRINGTON — In the wake of senseless tragedy, residents in the Northwest Corner have rallied behind a local family.

On May 20, 23-year-old New Hartford resident Zachary Dube died after being struck by a vehicle while riding his dirt bike. 

On Saturday, June 11, more than 300 people showed up at the RBC Bearings parking lot on a cold and rainy afternoon to raise money for the Dube family by doing what they and Zachary always loved: showing off and geeking out with their cars and trucks.

All proceeds from the show were to go directly to the family. 

Friends and family at the event all said Dube was an avid fan of all things mechanical.

“He loved anything with an engine,” according to friend Billy Cranouski. His loss echoed among his many friends and acquaintances who shared this passion. Cranouski who knew Dube since high school, also helped organize the event. “He would have loved this. He was a good kid and he touched a lot of lives.”

“This was his passion, this was his hobby,” said Logan Johnson, one of the main event planners.

Despite the less than ideal forecast, with a drizzling cold shower starting mid-afternoon, Johnson said he did not expect any change in the turnout. About 250 people had indicated they were attending on Facebook.

“If you were homeless, if you needed something, he would give you the shirt off of his back,” said Johnson, “That’s the kind of kid he was.”

Both cars and trucks, most with their hoods popped, lined large sections of the RBC parking lot by midmorning, as two- and four-wheeled offroad vehicles sped along the outskirts and a DJ filled the air with the sounds of Bruce Springsteen.

Johnson is the owner of a popular social media business, World of Trucks, which has around 26,000 followers on Instagram, focusing on truck culture and interests. After the tragedy, he said there was an immediate push to put together a show, that could both benefit Dube’s family and allow all those who loved him to commemorate him in the most fitting way.

“We’ve got people who came all the way from New Jersey, a three-and-a-half-hour ride so far,” said Johnson.

Neither distance nor poor weather deterred people however, as more and more vehicles of every description, most of them polished to shimmer even in the limited sunlight, continued to pour in early to the show.

“Even if it rains, people are not going to care,” said Cranouski. “Zak knew so many people. It’s all worth it.”

Before his death, Dube had finished building his own truck specifically meant for off-road drifting, one his favorite past-imes, according to Johnson. The first thing his friends did in his memory was go ahead with a trip Dube had planned for last week to Lebanon, New York. Laurel City Towing assisted in transporting the truck, and they “drifted all around for the day, for him,” said Johnson

For a life that touched so many others, whose friendliness and passion made him dear to a group of people that stretched outside his home in this small corner of Northwestern Connecticut, friends and family at the event all said that Dube will not be forgotten.

“They’re going to keep his legacy going,” said Johnson. “One thing he lived for was burnouts. So after the show, that road is going to be burning.”