CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — Friday will mark the one-year anniversary that Gavin Conroy got into a car crash on his way to work on Wells Road in Clay County.
“There’s no celebration for friday, it’s just the emotions are so high right now," said Conroy's aunt, Stacie Whitlatch.
Conroy suffered from severe burns all over his body and after being treated in the hospital for months, he didn’t make it.
Whitlatch says for some time it was difficult for her to drive down the road where her nephew was rear ended.
“To be honest with you there’s times I'm driving down Wells Road and I just wonder where his mind was on his way to work. It was just a regular normal day for him," said Whitlatch.
Whitlatch shares her last moments with her nephew, a memory she says she won’t ever forget.
“A week before his accident me and him had went kayaking and that was something that he loved to do, and just having that memory pop up and knowing that was the last time I got to see him before his accident it really made thing really real for me," said Whitlatch.
While this year has been tough for the family, she says they are very thankful for the support they have received from the community in the past year.
“It hurts losing your best friend. He was more than like a nephew to me. He was like a little brother. Things aren’t the same anymore," said Whitlatch.
The family had a fundraiser for Conroy this past weekend, and they raised $2500 in cash enough to finally get a headstone for Conroy.
If you would like to donate to help out with medical expenses you can go to their GoFundMe.