Andrew Faries, a popular Special Olympian and counsellor for the disabled, has died at the age of 24.

Known across the community as Hottwheels, Mr Faries’s specially adapted motorbike was a familiar sight on local roads. Although he used a wheelchair, Mr Faries was also a keen dancer.

His December 27 passing due to a medical complication prompted an outpouring of tributes on his Facebook page from friends across the Island.

“Andrew was full of life and loved to meet people — he was a very engaging personality who liked to go to happy hour by himself and dance,” his cousin Jenice Germain told The Royal Gazette.

“People loved him — he just dove right in, and loved being a part of peoples’ lives.”

Ms German said her cousin had lost his mother, Maria, at an early age, and was raised by his father Michael, with whom he lived in Smith’s. Mr Faries is also survived by his brother, Phillip.

He won a total of eight gold medals at the Special Olympics at Delaware in 2006 and 2008, specialising in the 50m, 100m and 200m races by wheelchair, and the shot putt.

Mr Faries was found to have spina bifida, a congenital spinal disorder, after his birth on June 19, 1989. He spent his life in a wheelchair.

Attending Elliott Primary School and Dellwood Middle School, where he was head boy in his final year of 2004, Mr Faries later attended CedarBridge Academy.

Fiercely independent, he volunteered at WindReach Recreational Village, including working as a junior counsellor at summer camps — but was determined to pursue his own career.

“Andrew really wanted to get out and earn his own money and live his own life,” Ms Germain said, noting that her cousin had enjoyed a 2007 student internship for the post office, as well as office work for a housekeeping company.

“His dream was to be as independent as possible and enjoy life just as much as everyone else.”

Mr Faries enjoyed dealing with people, and hoped to one day work as a tour guide, she added.

A sports enthusiast, he played basketball at WindReach and took part in archery, keeping closely involved in the facility’s adaptive sports programme.

Obtaining his bike brought Mr Faries a new level of mobility, Ms Germain said.

“It was a major, major accomplishment for Andrew, so that he no longer had to depend on other people for rides — it gave him a lot of the independence he needed.”

Erica Fulton, executive director of WindReach, called Mr Faries “a really great example, for people who came to visit WindReach, of what somebody can achieve”.

“He was very independent — people saw him driving around on his blue bike — and you definitely knew when he was in the room,” she said. “Andrew was such a warm and caring person.

“He never let his disability get in his way. He became a key part of WindReach, and his death comes as a total shock to us all — just two weeks before, he took part in our nativity scene.

“Andrew stepped in as a favour because we were short.”

Ms Fulton said Mr Faries would “step in and help with whatever it was — if I gave him a call, he would 100 percent be there”.

She said she’d first met Mr Faries as a volunteer in the summer of 2007 and was struck at once by “how charismatic and friendly he was”.

“Andrew would make an effort to come up to anyone and say hello to them,” Ms Fulton said. “We can’t really imagine what our lives will be like without him.”