KEYSTONE HEIGHTS, Fla. – Dozens of people gathered on a somber Labor Day to pray for several students involved in incidents over the last week.
Community members packed the Keystone Heights Junior Senior High School parking lot for a vigil to cover four students and their families who were involved in the tragedies that have shaken the close-knit community.
“These are all like my family, my people, people like this raised me here in the community, and it is, it’s quite the sight to see just how Keystone pulls together,” Principal Laurie Burke said.
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The week of heartache for this community included two students getting hurt in a car crash, a football player getting hurt during a game, and another student dying in a car crash in Gainesville over the weekend, while his mom and his friend are currently recovering.
News4JAX is working to learn more information about the injured football player and car crash victims.
Ryan Begue, pastor at the First Baptist Church in Keystone Heights, said the idea for a vigil came from a group of mothers who reached out to him and his wife on Sunday afternoon.
“We put it together,” Begue said. “And so as soon as we put a post on Facebook, it was as if, I don’t know, the entire area did about 4,000 shares in about 30 seconds because people do love each other. This place is something like nothing else I’ve really ever experienced.”
Clay County Schools is ensuring that students have support during this difficult time. Burke said five grief counselors would be at the school starting on Tuesday.
“You go where the need is tomorrow. Our students need us, the families, the friends need us, and everybody that is heartbroken, that are here and can provide that support has to be strong to handle that,” Burke said.
Begue said while sometimes tragedy brings out bitterness or anger, leaning on God with others can help the most.
“One of the things that I’ve always found in life is when we go through stuff like this, it helps us to realize the fragility of life and what’s really important and what matters. And so to me, it just pushes us closer to God,” he said.