HICKMAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A heartbroken father said that his family is still living inside a nightmare.
Their son, a rising football star, was killed after crashing his car on the way home Tuesday night. Friends and family gathered for a memorial on Thursday.
Some of the teenagers who attended were rivals on the football field. Half of them were from Hickman County, and the rest were from Dickson County. Friend and teammate Aden Cardona led the prayer. They held hands in honor of star athlete 17-year-old Tristan James.
"He was always there, always cutting up," friend and teammate Luke Marken said. "Making me laugh whenever I needed it."
Tristan was soon to be a senior at Hickman County High School.
"They not only lost a great kid, a good student, a good player, but somebody lost a son," coach R.E. McDonald said.
Friends told News 2 that the crash happened after he dropped his girlfriend off at her house after a date. He started to make his way home, but he never showed up. That's when his parents said that they knew something was wrong.
"My wife woke up at 1 a.m. and knew something wasn't right...We never really woke up from our nightmare," Phillip said. "Daybreak happened and you're supposed to wake up. We never woke up. We're still living it."
Tristan's dad, Phillip James, said that when the sun came up, he found his son's Jeep in the woods between Plunders Creek Road and Jesse Work Road. There is a memorial for Tristan set up there.
It's a reality that Tristan's family has to deal with, but they told News 2 that they were thankful for the community's support.
"They rallied around us," Phillip said. "They supported around us. Everybody had our back. They loved Tristan. Tristan is an amazing young man and I wouldn't try to deal with this any other way. This is amazing."
Teammates added that they want to make sure Tristan is remembered. There's a fund set up at the Heritage Bank under his name.