DAYTON — It is a very emotional time for some people as they are about to say goodbye to Ta’Wyane Palmer and his two sons. All three died in a car accident on New Year’s Day in Jefferson Township. Funeral services are planned Saturday in Dayton.
People with the Boys and Girls Club of Dayton got together Friday to show support for the family.
News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis reports the Palmers were active members of the Boys and Girls Club. Staff told him when the kids at the club found about the crash, they knew they had to do something.
“We love you, Ta’Wayne.”
Balloons flew high into the sky Friday afternoon for the Palmer family.
“We really work with our young people to empower them to own their feelings and feel their feels as we say,” said Crystal Alle, Boys and Girls of Dayton President/CEO. “One of the things that they said to us is ‘can we have a balloon release?’ and we said absolutely.”
“They wanted some tangible way to be able to release some of that hurt, release some of that emotion and just to do it by releasing a balloon just as simple as that,” said Mica Goosby, Boys and Girls Club of Dayton Board Chair.
>>PHOTOS: 2 children, 1 adult killed in Jefferson Twp. crash; 2 remain hospitalized
Lewis said another way to tap into those emotions was being with others and as people gathered outside, there were lots of hugs.
“We often say it’s more than a club, it’s a family,” Goosby said.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies said 13-year-old Ta’Wayne Palmer, Junior and nine-year-old Octaviuos Palmer died in a head-on crash on Germantown Pike on New Year’s Day.
The staff at the Boys and Girls Club told Lewis the boys were caring and kind, young men with bright futures.
“I would describe Ta’Wayne and Octavious and very jovial,” Allen told Lewis. “Octavious was a prankster oftentimes outside the office I would say who’s in the hall, he’d be running down the hall. Ta’Wayne was really, really excited about his future. They loved sports of course they loved Tik Tok videos.”
The club said it has mental health help for its members and for anyone in the community struggling with the loss.
>>Deputies suspect drunk driving in fatal head-on crash in Jefferson Twp.
Lewis says the death of Ta’Wayne and the kids has been difficult for the family to comprehend what happened to them.
They were in attendance for the balloon release but tell News Center 7 they were not ready to speak on camera but had a message.
“They wanted to express their thanks to the community, they wanted to express their thanks on behalf of their family,” said Allen. “They have appreciated the support from the Boys and Girls Club of Dayton.”
The club’s message to them.
“We love you so very much,” said Allen. “This community loves you and though very tragic and very hard we are here to under guard and to support you through this time and beyond.”
>>2 children, 1 adult killed in Jefferson Twp. crash; 2 remain hospitalized
The Boys and Girls Club tells Lewis the sister, Journie, was also in the crash and is still in the hospital.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies believe another driver crossed the center line and hit the Palmers’ SUV head-on. They thought the other driver was possibly intoxicated.
No charges have yet been filed, the sheriff’s told Lewis.