A Shoals community said good-bye to their three teenage boys on Tuesday after a deadly crash over the weekend.
A funeral service was held at Wilson High School for family, friends, and community members to recall the caring lives of Braden Turner, Coby Hines, and Tyler Nelson.
They were known to make you crack a smile and pick you up when you were down.
“They would all make you laugh and they were basically always there for you when you needed somebody,” said student Anthony Stults.
Stults will remember his high school days playing backyard football with his best friend Braden as well as with Coby and Tyler. He plans to make sure they live on by doing the good he knows they would have done.
“To keep their spirit alive, do the things that they did for me, to help other people get through life,” he said. “That’s what I look for, to make other people happy.”
School staff is ready to talk with grieving students and some students are ready to be a shoulder to lean on.
“Figure something out just to keep the memories going,” said Madison Harrell, another student. “You know we all pray about it, try to help the community heal and stuff. One step at a time.”
Even those who did not know the boys personally came to the service to offer condolences and support their community. One woman tells WZDX News that people from every corner of the community are affected.
That means more people than just those at the service will keep alive the spirits of Braden, Coby, and Tyler.
“They were great to be around,” Stults said.
The two girls from Florence High School who were badly hurt in the crash are still hospitalized. Katie Boggus was the driver and Kaylee McGee was a passenger.
