KNOX COUNTY, Ohio — The Knox County community is mourning the loss of 18-year-old James Clay Bristow II.
He died this past Sunday in a car crash that happened just off Monroe Mills Road near Zion Road.
On Monday, friends and loved ones of Bristow met at the scene.
"He's been like family to all of us and this one...definitely hurt,” said Gio Glover, who said he’s known Bristow since the 2nd grade.
Ohio State Highway Patrol said around 2:40 pm on Sunday, a 19-year-old was driving a silver 2009 Kia Spectra on Township Road 233 when he drove off the right side of the road, overcorrected, and hit a tree. The car flipped over. Troopers say only the driver was wearing their seatbelt.
OSHP said Bristow died at the scene.
His good friend Eli Carter was in shock when he heard the news.
"I had fallen asleep and woken up and I was frantically trying to figure out like 'it's not Clay, there's no way that's Clay because I had just talked with him recently,” Carter said.
They’re holding onto the memories of who he was, and how much he made them laugh.
"You'd be sitting here making fun of us that all of us are crying and just some of that stuff that you won't ever forget, just memories that you just have to hold onto,” Carter said.
East Knox Local Schools superintendent Steve Larcomb told 10TV Bristow graduated from the district in June.
"He was a young man with a huge smile and a gregarious personality. James was an (Agriculture) Business student while at East Knox. I will forever remember him crossing the stage to receive his diploma and the chance to shake his hand in congratulations. Our hearts go out to his family in their time of sorrow for a life lost far too soon," Larcomb wrote in an emailed statement.
His friends said Clay loved baseball, fishing, and everything about life.
"A lot of us came together from not knowing each other to everybody being family. Clay made a huge impact on all of that,” said Glover.
He may be gone, but his spirit and memories will live for many years to come.
"Me and my best friend use to do this and this and those memories keep popping up and when people say long live those memories really help that,” said Glover.
Friends plan to honor Clay at the upcoming East Knox football game this weekend. Some students have created a banner that football players will run through dedicated to him.