Kin mourn a ‘cautious rebel’

Police say Nicolas Guaman, 34, an illegal immigrant from Ecuador who had his 4-year-old with him in the truck, was drunk when he ran a stop sign and hit Denice’s motorcycle. They say Guaman continued slowly weaving his way around the corner of Congress and Fayette, then onto West Street, and later Bancroft Avenue.

A meandering dark streak, accented by orange police spray paint, traces the route.

“What a loss it is to the world,’’ said Maloney, 51. “He was going to be a wonderful father. He was a wonderful son.’’

Denice’s parents said his affinity for skateboarding, snowboarding, and the prospect of adventure came from his stepfather, Michael Maloney, 53, who helped raise him.

His caution came from his mother, a nurse practitioner. He never revved his motorcycle up the streets of the quiet residential Milford neighborhood where he lived. And he refused to drive if he had a couple of beers, choosing instead to walk home.

“I’ve seen a lot of things in 30 years, and this is right up there,’’ said Milford Police Chief Thomas O’Loughlin in a phone interview. “He dragged the guy for a quarter-mile. He was alive for a good portion of it.’’

Samuel Schwenninger, 37, who lives on West Street, was among the frantic witnesses who gave chase, trying to make the driver stop. But he did not.

The driver “just kind of stared at us blankly,’’ Schwenninger said. “I could see [Denice] grimacing through the viser on his helmet. I won’t soon forget that.’’

Finally, at the corner of West Street and Bancroft Avenue, police say, Guaman left the road. Gouges in a sloping lawn were still fresh yesterday, and spray paint circled dark stains on the sidewalk where Denice dislodged from the truck and where witnesses found him dead.

Even after running up the curb into the yard, Guaman did not stop, police said, but instead backed up and kept going. Police caught him two blocks later.

Bouquets lay on the lawn there yesterday, including a rose that Michael Maloney left.

“I don’t care what country you’re from,’’ he said, “you don’t have a soul.’’