Keystone Heights community prays together for students involved in tragedies

KEYSTONE HEIGHTS, Florida. – On a somber Labor Day, dozens of people gathered to pray for several students involved in incidents over the past week.

Community members crowded the parking lot of Keystone Heights Junior Senior High School for a vigil for four students and their families involved in the tragedies that have rocked the close-knit community.

“These are all like my family, my people. These are the kind of people who raised me here in the community, and it's really impressive to see how Keystone sticks together,” said Principal Laurie Burke.

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The week of heartbreak for this community included the loss of two students in a car accident, a football player injured during a game, and another student killed in a car accident in Gainesville over the weekend while his mother and friend are currently recovering.

News4JAX is working to gather more information about the injured football player and the car accident victims.

Ryan Begue, pastor of First Baptist Church in Keystone Heights, said the idea for a vigil came from a group of mothers who approached him and his wife on Sunday afternoon.

“We put it together in about four minutes and as soon as we put a post up on Facebook, it was like, I don't know, the whole area was shared about 4,000 times in about 30 seconds because people really love each other. This place is like nothing else I've ever experienced,” Begue said.

Clay County Schools is making sure students have support during this difficult time. Burke said five grief counselors will be at the school starting Tuesday.

“They're going where help is needed tomorrow. Our students need us, the families, the friends need us, and anyone who is heartbroken who is here and can provide that support has to be strong enough to handle it,” Burke said.

Begue said that tragedies sometimes cause bitterness and anger, but that what helps most is to lean on God together with others.

“One of the things I've always realized in life is that experiences like this help us realize the fragility of life and what's really important and what matters. And for me, that brings us closer to God,” he said.