JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The memories of Carnell Jones have been pouring in since last week, constant reminders of just how many lives he touched in his time here.
Friends and family of Jones gathered Wednesday for a balloon release to celebrate the life of the 21-year-old who was tragically killed over the weekend in a traffic accident.
Jones was acting as a good Samaritan early Sunday morning when he was helping a woman push a disabled car off the roadway when another vehicle crashed into him and a 19-year-old woman who he was helping.
“Man, my brother … to me he was just pure … the definition of pure. Just an angel,” said Jones' brother, Keynard Cummings.
Michelle Denson, Jones' mother, said that she’s been able to find some comfort in seeing just how many lives that her son touched.
“You cannot understand how it eased my heart to know that people loved my child,” she said. “I know he was a good child to me but I’m so glad what he learned at home he carried everywhere he went.”
On Wednesday, Jones' friends and family gathered for a balloon release to remember him. They said that stopping to help someone he didn’t know just describes the type of person Jones was.
“That is Carnell. And you can ask anyone who works with him or knows him, that is Carnell,” Denson said. “[He’d give] the shirt off his back to a stranger. … He was just a good guy.”
Jones was a big Florida Gators fan, so everyone wore orange and blue on Wednesday and released balloons the same color.
“Ever since 3 or 4 years old he has been a Gator [fan],” Denson said. “I guess now I’m a Gator. I wasn’t one but now I am. That’s my baby. I’m trying hard to stay strong and by doing that is doing the things that he liked.”
Jones' funeral is scheduled for Saturday. The family has a GoFundMe account to help with expenses.