‘They were so young.’ Family mourns Hancock County teens killed in single-car accident
Just weeks ago, Benjamin Gryner was fighting to succeed. He was applying to jobs. He had an interview at Taco Bell. He wanted his GED, his family said.
His dreams died with him on Monday.
Jackson Rodriguez, 18, Jacob Harper, 17, and Gryner, who was 16, all died in a single-vehicle crash in Hancock County this week after their pickup truck veered off the road, across a ditch and into the woods, authorities said. Two were ejected from the truck. One was trapped inside. All three died at the scene.
“I’m numb,” Gryner’s grandmother, Robin Caldwell, said Thursday. “They were so young.”
Gryner’s loved ones spoke through tears Thursday morning about the strong and caring teenager who they said loved his family and young siblings more than anything.
“He had the ability to love so tremendously,” his stepfather, Devon Westbrook, said. “He was willing to fight for the people he cared about with a tremendous capacity.”
He was Caldwell’s first grandson.
“He was just getting his life together,” she said.
The three teenagers were all from Diamondhead. The crash remains under investigation.
Gryner, the youngest of the three, loved video games, basketball, anime and skiing, according to an obituary. He was born in Austin, Texas and lived in Idaho before moving to Diamondhead, where he was beloved by a circle of friends. He is survived by his parents, grandparents, two uncles, an aunt, an 11-year-old sister and a 3-year-old brother. His funeral is Nov. 7 at Edmond Fahey Funeral Home in Bay St. Louis.
Caldwell said the pickup truck belonged to Rodriguez, who had just gotten it a week ago. She did not know Harper well, she said, but she knew Rodriguez through his friendship with her grandson.
“I feel like I’ve lost two children,” she said. “Jackson was such a good influence on Ben.”
A GoFundMe page for Harper’s funeral arrangements has raised over $2,000 so far. The family asked for donations and for people to share the page. “Prayers are greatly appreciated,” they said.
