Father laments son’s passing following collision near Pigeon Forge’s Rod Run auto festival, saying, “He’s not coming back.”
WATE: PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. A man who was attending the Rod Run car festival in Pigeon Forge on Friday passed away, turning what was meant to be a family holiday into a tragic event. “Every year, we travel here for the Rod Run. We visit this place three times a year, spending a week here each time. Jeremy Hanes, the boy’s father, stated, “This was my son’s first time actually attending it with me.” Jeremy Hanes and his son Kyle, 31, grew close because of their shared passion for automobiles.
Jeremy Hanes and his son Kyle, 31, grew close because of their shared passion for automobiles. Jeremy remarked, “He was my ace, my number one, he was like me made over. We own a car lot in Indiana. He loved cars.” On Thursday, April 18, Jeremy and his kid were reportedly riding scooters when they were requested to relocate from the sidewalk onto the road by law authorities. They later parted ways. “I found out on my own, walking down the street and seeing the scooter there and his hat lying on the ground. It was brought to my attention five minutes after my son left me that night that this happened — that he was in an accident,” Jeremy said.
The Pigeon Forge Police Department said on Saturday, April 20, that a man operating a scooter between the sidewalk and the road collided with a car door that someone had opened at a red light. One day after the crash, he passed away in the hospital. “He was extremely happy and couldn’t wait to come to this Rod Run with me,” Jeremy remarked. “And now it’s finished.”
Now, Jeremy wants answers.
“No one can give me an answer, why has no one reached out to me to let me know anything, why has nobody said anything to me?” he asked. “My son is gone; he’s not coming back.”
He’s also looking for justice for his son.
“Somebody is at fault here, and somebody is going to pay for this.”
Jeremy said one thing that brings him peace is knowing his son was nearly a year sober when he died.
