Celebration of life held for Jacksonville man hit and killed while helping overturned car

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — If you ask family, friends, and loved ones they’ll tell you 23-year-old Gavin Carter had a heart of gold until the very end.

“He died the way he lived, being a good person, helping the next person,” Gavin’s mom, Dawn Carter told Action News Jax. “He wasn’t afraid to live life to its fullest. He was taken from us entirely too soon.”

Loved ones celebrated life Sunday morning for the 23-year-old, honoring his memory after he was killed late last month while helping an overturned driver near McDuff Avenue on I-10 on Saturday, May 25th.

READ: 23-year-old good Samaritan killed in hit-and-run after trying to help in fatal crash on I-10

Investigators say when walking up to that overturned vehicle, Gavin was hit by a sedan and killed, before the driver of the sedan left the scene. Gavin’s fiancé was in the car and saw the tragedy unfold.

“They were getting ready to get a house, they were about to get married, like, everything was falling together for them,” reminisced Gavin’s brother, Gage Carter, at Sunday’s celebration of life. “Their life was about to actually start, and then right before it did, it was taken away.”

While family and friends continue to mourn Gavin’s death, Sunday morning’s celebration of life was just that: a thankful remembrance for the man’s loved ones will forever hold in their hearts.

Now, the search remains for the driver responsible who fled the scene.

“It won’t bring my brother back, but it’ll bring us some ease, just to get justice,” said Gage.

“A lot of things are forgivable, but the fact that [they’re] going to continue to drag our family through this makes it very hard. Just take accountability,” pleaded Gavin’s mom Sunday morning. “Take accountability for what you did. You owe that to my son and my family.”

Good Samaritan killed in hit-and-run crash

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