ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — The Middleburg community will hold a candlelight vigil Monday evening at 7 p.m. to honor two teenagers killed in a crash in St. Augustine.
The boys, identified by the St. Johns Classical Academy as Parker Rowley and Luke Kennedy, died after their car collided with a pickup truck on SR-16 at the intersection of Francis Road on Friday.
Troopers said the 17-year-old passenger, Parker Rowley, died at the scene and the 16-year-old driver, Luke Kennedy, was taken to the hospital in critical condition. He later died of his injuries Sunday. Clay County Schools told Action News Jax he was a student at Ridgeview High School.
Grief counselors will be on hand this week.
St. Johns Classical Academy, where the other teenager attended, gave Action News Jax reporter Robert Grant the following statement:
Parker Rowley was an 11th grade student at St Johns Classical Academy. Luke Kennedy, who died yesterday, is a former student of SJCA and was a current student at Ridgeview High School. Both boys were loved by students and teachers alike. They will be missed. Clay County District Schools deployed their Crisis Response Team to our campus this morning to assist with grief counseling. They were also available at Ridgeview High School this morning.
There will be a candlelight vigil held for both boys tonight at Pinewood Presbyterian Church at 7:00 p.m.
Family friends also set up a Go Fund Me for the family of Luke and Parker, you can find it HERE.
In a statement on the Go Fund Me, the families wrote,
Parker and Luke have been inseparable since they met seven years ago. Their birthdays just a day apart. Parker needed Luke and Luke needed Parker. They were the best boys together. They spent their last minutes on this earth together. On Friday, October 9th, they spent the afternoon visiting friends on their way to their favorite taco place in St. Augustine. On their way home, they were in an accident that took Parker. Luke was on life support and we lost him on Sunday, October 11th. We feel that the Lord just didn’t want to separate these two. They had a special bond.
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