Brandon Simpson’s bedroom at his home in New Hampshire was decorated with photos of sailboats and beaches.
He knew since he was young that he wanted to leave the cold for the sun and sand. He finally recently lived out his dream. With little plan, he packed up his car and headed south with one of his lifelong friends and Simpson’s rescue dog, Kona, in August 2021. Within a few years, he had built a life in Fort Lauderdale, working a restaurant job that he loved at night and spending his days at the beach.
Simpson had been out celebrating his 28th birthday and was headed home shortly after 2 a.m. April 28 when he mistakenly drove onto a boat ramp closest to the Avenue of the Arts Bridge at Cooley’s Landing Marina and into the New River, his family told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. His younger brother, Tyler Simpson, said he had talked on the phone with his brother about 10 minutes before the crash; he seemed his normal self.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue divers rescued Simpson from his sinking car. He was pronounced dead at Broward Health Medical Center, police and fire rescue officials said. His car was swept in the strong current, past the bridge, and later recovered.
His family believes that area of boat ramps near the bridge needs more safety measures than are currently in place to prevent a similar accident.
“It’s right next to the bridge. It looks like he was thinking that was an on-ramp to get back onto the highway, and he’s not from around the area,” his mother Erica Simpson said.
Ten years ago, Wilton Manors resident Lisa Hayden-Gordon died in a similar accident, the Sun Sentinel reported. One of Hayden-Gordon’s friends told the city’s Marine Advisory Board at the time that she was shocked by how easy it could be to drive onto the boat ramp from where Southwest Seventh Avenue curves sharply. The tragedy led to city officials then vowing to make the area safer.
After the death in 2015, the city installed rumble strips, reflectors, lighting and signs saying “warning boat ramp,” city spokesperson Christine Portela told the Sun Sentinel.
Simpson’s family feels like without some sort of physical barrier or gate blocking the ramp, there’s still not enough protection.
“Something as simple as that would have saved his life,” his mother said.
An officer working with the family told them that Simpson wasn’t the only person to make the error, they said.
There have been “several incidents” of crashes at Cooley’s Landing, in the 400 block of Southwest Seventh Avenue, said Fort Lauderdale Police Sgt. David Soika, but he could not provide an exact number. A public records request for the incident report from the April 28 crash, as well as statistics on the number of crashes in that area had not been received as of Friday.
At least four others, including Hayden-Gordon, similarly crashed at Cooley’s Landing in the last 20 years, according to South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.
In August 2014, the driver of an SUV went into the New River about 4:30 a.m., believing the ramp was an Interstate 95 entrance ramp. Two women were rescued.
In September 2005, the body of a taxi driver was recovered inside of his cab from the New River after plunging into the water from Cooley’s Landing. There were no signs of trauma or foul play.
In 2001, Oakland Park resident Heather Munroe died in a submerged van that was driven into the river there at about 2 a.m. after leaving now-closed Maguire’s Hill 16.
Commissioner Steve Glassman, whose district includes the area of Cooley’s Landing Marina, told the Sun Sentinel he has not heard of any safety concerns about the boat ramps there in the seven years he has been an elected official.
Simpson’s family described him as a laidback yet headstrong, philosophical man. He worked at the J. Alexander’s restaurant, a job that he loved for its opportunity to be social and meet new people.
As the oldest sibling, Simpson was not only a big brother to Lauren Simpson, 26, and Tyler Simpson, 24, but was equally protective of anyone he cared for, his family said. He was particularly protective of his little sister.
“He was only a year-and-a-half and if people came to try to pick her up — ‘No, it’s my Lauren,’” his mother recalled Simpson saying.
“That continued through Lauren’s life,” his father said.
Simpson was the type of person to “power through” any struggles and “go lay on the beach,” his brother said.
“He just, to a superhuman level, he did not stress things,” he said. “He was the most lax guy. No matter what was going on, attack it with a smile on his face.”
Grieving over his death, his brother said Simpson lived courageously in making the dream he had since he was a child a reality.
“We’re really proud that he came here, brave enough to come here,” he said.
Information from the South Florida Sun Sentinel archives was used in this report.