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Celebration Turned Tragic

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 15, 2007

Updated: 12/13/2007 04:57 pm

PLANT CITY - The festive mood of the 24th annual Plant City Christmas Parade ended abruptly with the death of a 9-year-old Inverness boy who was killed by a moving church float.

The Dec. 7 parade, featuring almost 150 units including cars, motorcycles, equestrian groups and marching bands, was to help ring in the holiday season.

The parade began at 6:30 p.m. at Collins and Alsobrook streets and was to head north on Collins toward the historical downtown district and Reynolds Street.

Everything changed about 8:15 p.m. when Jordan "Booka" Hays took a misstep near Collins and Laura streets and was crushed beneath the wheels of the Greater Heights Family Worship Center float. He was helping hand out candy with the float almost at the end of the parade lineup. Jordan was killed as he reached for more goodies and got caught under the wheels.
Holiday cheer was instantly transformed into grief.

At Monday's city commission meeting, Mayor Rick Lott recalled how the celebration turned to tragedy.

"As always, we were looking forward to a wonderful parade, with lots of fun and the arrival of Santa," Lott said. "It was a beautiful night, the stars were out. You could see the joy on the faces of the adults and the children. ... And suddenly it was as if the lights went out."

Lott was riding in unit 15 in the parade. Riding immediately behind him were other city commissioners, including Robert Brown.

Brown said he didn't realize anything was wrong until he and his wife, Wendy, went to a post-parade party at the Plant City home of Johnnie and Melane Byrd.

"At about 8:30, Melane asked me if I had heard a child had been run over in the parade," he said.

Brown called Lott, who confirmed the news.

"The change of emotion was almost instantaneous," Brown said. "After the lighting of the community Christmas tree on Thursday, and the expectations and fulfillment of the parade, we were all in the Christmas spirit. Then suddenly it all changed. Most of the children along the route, waiting for Santa, were left with empty streets, no parade and no Santa. And there is a child hurt badly in the street, or dead."

After the accident, the parade continued but police redirected the remaining units away from the accident scene. The parade was sent west down Renfro Street to Evers Street, then north, paralleling the original route, and then east on Reynolds Street to Michigan Avenue. People who lined Collins from Laura to Reynolds streets, about a five-block stretch, did not see Santa or the end of the parade.

City traffic supervisor Don Rainard, who played Santa Claus, did not learn of the accident until the parade was over, although he suspected something was amiss. He was riding in a Florida National Guard vehicle behind the Durant High School marching band and color guard.

"When we first stopped, I saw police moving toward the front and I knew something was wrong," Rainard said. "We sat there for what seemed like 20 minutes without moving. Then we edged forward to Renfro Street and were diverted to Evers Street. The children along the route were still waving at Santa just like you expect them to."

Santa's drivers followed the detour and entered the regular parade route again at Evers and Reynolds streets, moving east to the end at Michigan Avenue.

"I knew something was wrong, but had no idea what it was," Rainard said. At Collins and Reynolds streets, some children were waving, some were leaving, and others seemed sad and subdued, he said.

Rainard said he noticed one girl in particular, about 7 or 8 years old.

"She was walking with her parents and had the saddest look on her face," he said. "When I passed her she didn't wave or brighten up at all. I could tell that something awful had happened."

After the parade ended, children approached him asking for presents, saying hello and dancing excitedly.

"Then one of the children asked me if the little boy had died," Rainard said. "It hit me hard. But I told them I didn't know and that I was sure that the police and fire rescue workers would do their very best."

Rainard said he saw the girl again. She was standing nearby with her parents.

"As Santa, I walked over to her and bent down and gave her a hug," Rainard said. "I told her everything would be all right. She gave me a little smile and some of her sadness went away. I felt a little better myself."

Robin Hacker, a Walden Lake resident, paused Tuesday at a makeshift memorial site at the corner where Hays died. She was on her way to the library when she paused to say a prayer. Rows of teddy bears and flowers lined a railroad signal pole there.

"I think it is so sweet that people care enough to leave these things here," Hacker said.

Hacker, 51, said she received a phone call from a friend who was at the parade and saw the accident.

"She sounded hysterical," Hacker said. "She was right there. I could hear people screaming in the background. People were crying. My friend didn't know if the boy was dead. But within minutes the word spread that he was gone. I heard the sirens. My friend was crying. She couldn't talk anymore. She had to hang up."

Hacker said she usually goes to the Christmas parade. She was going to go with her friend this year but changed her mind.

"I don't know if I will ever be able to go again," Hacker said.

"I'll have to wait to see how I feel next year. I can't imagine what the boy's family is feeling right now. I can't imagine how his mother feels. I hope she can find comfort somehow."

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Fank Labarbera, co-chairman of the Plant City Christmas Parade, has established a Jordan Hays Memorial Fund at Regions Bank in Plant City. Donations can be dropped off at any Regions Bank in Plant City, or mailed to: Attention: Gail Lyons, Regions Bank, 2303 Thonotosassa Road, Plant City FL 33563. All the money collected will be given to Jordan's family, Labarbera said.

Jordan's parents, Jerry and Connie Hays, have created a foundation, Jordan's Wish, which will collect toys for less-fortunate children. Plant City businessman Johnny Knotts, one of the first to reach Jordan after the accident, has volunteered to collect donations, including cash, checks, toys or stuffed animals, at his hardware store. Donations and toys can be dropped off at Knotts Trading & Supply, 314 S. Collins St., Plant City.

The Hays family has established a trust fund at Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union. Checks can be made payable to Jerry D. Hays Jr. or Connie L. Hays and dropped off at any branch of the credit union or mailed to: Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union, Attention: Member Service Support, P.O. Box 11904, Tampa FL 33610.

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 865-4451 or gnewman@tampatrib.com.

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