Two Young Men are Killed in Freak Accident

The Jasper County community is mourning the death of two young men who were killed in a freak accident last Thursday, Feb. 28.

Johnathan Bell, 20, and Kevin Camp, 19, freshman students at Brewton-Parker College in Ailey, Ga., were killed when a tree fell on the truck they were traveling in on their way to baseball practice at the school. Both young men are 2012 graduates of Jasper County High School.

According to reports, a huge pine tree, its roots undermined by recent rains, was apparently toppled by wind and fell directly on the small S-10 pick-up truck as it traveled on Hwy. 280 in Ailey.

Both young men were very well-liked in the Jasper County community, and the number of people at their funeral services exceeded the number that can be seated in the sanctuary at Monticello Baptist Church. Full obituary information is on page 2.

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Friends remember Mr. Camp as a young man with a passion for baseball. He was the home-run hitter for the Monticello Hurricanes and was lovingly known as HamBeno—Ham for short. He was also nicknamed the “Kevinator.” Comments about the young man follow:

“He was fiercely competitive and was his own biggest critic.

He would even bet another pitcher that week who would have the most strikeouts. He was a protector—of his brothers, of his teammates, and of his friends. He was loyal to his friends almost to a fault—covering for them so they wouldn’t get into trouble.

“He was a strong but gentle young man—known as a gentle giant! He worked in the office as a peer facilitator his senior year, and was very helpful to students and teachers alike. His teachers loved him—not because he was the most outstanding student—but because he made the effort!

“His other passions were trucks and motorcycles and fishing. He loved riding dirt roads, and the muddier, the better. And he loved fishing—even to the point of checking in late to school because he spent the morning at a pond. He even took another fishing pole back to Brewton Parker with him so J.B. would have something to fish with. He was an active member of the BASS Club at JCHS, where he competed in numerous fishing tournaments with his fishing buddies.

“Kevin loved his family—especially his two younger brothers—and he was very proud of them. He was an encouragement to them and to so many others. He had an eye for those in need. He didn’t notice the differences—just the possibilities. His heart was full of compassion for those less fortunate or with disabilities.

“Kevin was just an all-around good guy that everybody liked. Yes, he was a mischievous teenager who was all boy, but he had a heart of gold and he touched more lives than he will ever know.”

Johnathan Bell was known as “J.B” to many. He was described as being full of life.

“From the time he was a small boy, he loved to have fun and play tricks on people. J.B. was liked by everyone—children and adults. His smile was as big as the world.

“J.B. was a ‘Mama’s Boy’ through and through. He loved the rest of his family, but his mama was his world and she was his number one fan. He was a great uncle and couldn’t wait until his nephews were old enough to learn to throw a ball.

“J.B. loved all sports, but baseball was his thing. He played center field and was a member of the Middle School Baseball championship team his eighth grade year. J.B. didn’t have a particular team that he followed, but he loved to cheer for the team that no one else was cheering for at the time. If you were a Georgia fan, he would be a Georgia Tech fan that day! He just loved to aggravate people about ‘their team.’

“J.B. was not always a successful student, and he had to work his way back out of the trench to catch up on his work and his grades.

He eventually worked his way through to graduation in 2012 and then to follow his dream of playing college baseball.“J.B. loved big trucks and good music and just riding around and having fun. He was a big flirt and loved to be around the girls. But he was a gentleman, looking out for girls all around him. He loved for someone to play with his hair, and was known to ask anyone sitting near him in class to play with his hair.

“He was known for going up behind people and putting his hands over their eyes and saying ‘Guess Who?’ And he loved to go by teachers’ rooms and turn off the lights in the classroom!

“J.B. was also a peer facilitator in the office at the high school his senior year. He was helpful to the office staff and his outgoing personality and fun-loving spirit made him a favorite.

“J.B. suffered a back injury in high school which resulted in surgery. He struggled through physical therapy and worked hard to play centerfield his senior year. He was injured again in the same spot during college baseball and had just learned that he would have to face surgery again. He was in tremendous pain at times, but he hardly ever showed it. Only those closest to him knew how much pain he was in.

“J.B. was just one of those kids that everybody loved. He, too, had no idea what an impact he had on so many lives!”

One of J.B.’s teammates, Brady McMichael, had this to say, “…we have so many memories riding in the back [of the bus] on the way to baseball games. We would do something on there just to tick off Teo. I know almost every game we would wake up and forget about the air conditioner and bump our heads onto it and then head out on the field and J.B. would play full speed no matter the score.

“Probably the memory I will remember the most about J.B. is when we were playing eighth grade football against Social Circle. It was a tie game with only a few seconds left when Dee [Chapman] threw the ball towards the end zone and J.B. tipped it. Everyone thought it was over but the ball happened to land in my hands for the touchdown. Before I could realize what happened, J.B. tackled me and was screaming ‘We won, We won!!’ The way he reacted was just like he had caught it.

“But that was the kind of person he was, it didn’t matter who got the glory or hit home runs, all that mattered to him was if we won. And if we won that was good enough for him no matter how good he did.

“Yeah him and Kevin may be gone but I know that whenever I step onto the mound they will have my back!” said Mr. McMichael.

Of both the young men, teacher Amy Scroggs said, “I watched both of these young men grow up and probably watched almost every game they played with Brady [McMichael] growing up. My daughter traveled with the varsity baseball team and got extremely close to all the players. She was very good friends with both J.B. and Kevin.

“Those boys were good to her…they protected her like she was their own sister. They were both good friends to her and they would have done anything in the world for her. That’s what I remember the most. That they made my daughter smile and laugh, and that they were true gentlemen in every sense of the word!”