Almost every morning, laughter and playful banter filled the Einstein Bros. Bagels shop in Concord. Two young men, full of life, would goof around, their loud noises filling the room while Sarah Hardy, the general manager, prepared their breakfast.

It was her son, Carson Hardy, and his closest friend, Dylan Hough’s daily routine before heading off to work.

“We’d be wicked goofballs and she’d be telling us to shut up,” Hough reminisced “But she loved us. She was cool about it.”

Now, the laughter has faded, leaving an aching silence in Sarah Hardy’s life.

She misses those moments when they were “loud and obnoxious and just being boys” after Carson Hardy, 22, was killed in a motorcycle accident in Bow this spring.

“We were really close. He was a mama’s boy,” Sarah Hardy said, choking back tears as she spoke.

Carson was the youngest of her three children.

He faced many challenges growing up, from being picked on by other kids to getting into trouble and being a bit of a punk. But he turned his life around, becoming a father to two children and earning the love and respect for going out of his way to help others.

He would shovel people’s driveways in a snowstorm. If someone needed money, he would try his best to help them.

“He would literally take his shirt off his back and give it to you if he needed it,” his mother said.

Another thing that defined him was his love for bikes and motorcycles.

By the age of three, Carson was confidently riding a bike without training wheels. From there, he transitioned from a toddler’s bike to larger ones, including a Harley Davidson, a dirt bike, and eventually, a high-powered sports bike.

Every trip to the store as a child meant Carson’s insistence on having a toy bike in every color.

Sarah Hardy’s concern for Carson’s safety on a motorcycle lingered, especially with the frequent reports of motorcycle fatalities towards the end of each riding season.

In New Hampshire, the number of fatal accidents involving motorcycles and mopeds has been on the rise. 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 41 motorcyclists and moped riders lost their lives in 2023 due to fatal crashes. This year, the toll has already reached six, with five operators and one passenger among the victims.

The previous year, 2022, saw 32 fatalities involving motorcycles and mopeds.

April 9 started like any regular work day until Sarah Hardy was approached by police officers at around 10:30 am. They took her out to the back. At first, she was confused. But the looks on their faces gave it away. She knew it was something bad, something about Carson.

He was killed in a fiery crash with a box truck at the intersection of Route 3A and Robinson Road that morning.

“It was literally the worst day of my life,” said Sarah Hardy, wiping away her tears. “I guess I was in shock because I didn’t cry for two hours. It took two hours before I realized he wasn’t coming back.”

Both Sarah Hardy and Carson’s fiancée, Alita Davis, had pleaded with him to give up riding, reminding him about the responsibility he now bore as a father to two baby girls, both under two years old.

“He was going to get rid of his motorcycle,” Sarah Hardy said. “He said just one more season.” 

Meghan Hardy, Carson’s elder sister, wanted the world to know that her brother was a responsible rider.

“He was not just a kid on a bike. He was a dad,” she said. “He loved his girls, fiancée, his mom, brother and sister. He was a family man.”

Carson’s impact on the lives of others was profound, evident in the overwhelming turnout of 500 friends and family members at his funeral. They wore Crocs as tribute to Carson’s fondness for the unconventional footwear.

“He was like a brother to me,” said Hough, who had known Carson since he was in school but became closer as they grew older and began working together at Tri-State Curb in Bow. “He was a really good human, he was very selfless and he always thought about others.”

With weeks passing since the tragic accident that claimed her son’s life, Sarah Hardy said she isn’t angry at the driver who drove the truck, understanding that being mad wouldn’t bring Carson back and that anyone could have been in the driver’s place.

But she has a message for everyone behind the wheel.

“Pay attention. You don’t need to be in a rush to go any where,” she said. “You never need to be in a rush to go somewhere.”

With the memory of Carson in her heart and a photo of him attached to a Crocs keychain in her pocket, Sarah Hardy continues her life with resilience, staying strong for her family.

“A piece of me is gone,” she said. “It’s paralyzing and you want to give up but then I can’t. Carson wouldn’t want me to.”