JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — For the first time, we are hearing from the people who tried to help Jared Bridegan and his daughter the night he was shot and killed in Jacksonville Beach. Tomorrow marks two years since his murder.
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Shane Borja and his girlfriend, Jonelle Cruz, said the memories of that tragic night still paint a vivid picture in their minds.
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“I could remember it like, as clear as it was like it just happened yesterday,” Borja said. “It’s just really sad.”
Two years ago, on Feb. 16, a little after 8 p.m. Borja and Cruz were heading home from visiting a friend when they came across Jared Bridegan’s car.
“I saw him like laying on the ground,” Borja said. “I thought it was like looking under his car. And then I saw a tire in front of his car. So, I thought he was changing his tire or something.”
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But Borja quickly realized something was wrong.
“I thought it was an accident, like a car accident,” Borja said. “I yelled out to him, and I was like, ‘Hey, everything all right.’ And there was no -- he had no response. And he was pretty much motionless.”
Police say Bridegan had been shot and killed in an ambush attack. Meanwhile, his two-year-old daughter, Bexley, was sitting helplessly in the backseat.
Borja and Cruz immediately called 9-1-1.
“I just grabbed the door without even thinking and I asked a little girl like, ‘Hey, okay, everything, okay?’” Borja said.
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When Borja and Cruz took her away from the crime scene, they said Bexley remained calm and was not crying.
“She was a very strong, smart, little girl,” Cruz said. “She knew something was wrong with her dad. She was like my dad’s hurt on the ground. What’s wrong with my dad?
Cruz said she used her daughter’s blanket and wrapped it around Bexley to keep her warm while detectives collected evidence.
“It was heartbreaking,” Cruz said. “You know for her to go through that and know that her dad was on the ground hurt, like it’s very traumatizing.”
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While it was a traumatizing experience, Cruz and Borja say they are grateful they were there to help little Bexley.
“It just felt really good that you know, she was safe,” Cruz said. “And we were able to comfort her until the police took her.”
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Since his murder, Jared’s wife, Kirsten Bridegan, created the ‘Bexley Box’ for kids who may go through similar situations – to help make a child’s experience at a police station a little less scary. It has comfort toys like stuffed animals and basic necessities like diapers.
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