Demetrius Jordan, 20, was drinking and smoking pot Saturday night before getting behind the wheel of his Chevy Impala and cruising the streets of St. Petersburg at 80 mph.
Kelly McConnell, 19, on summer break from the University of Miami, was riding home from a movie with his father and two older brothers in the family Ford Fusion during a beach vacation in part to celebrate his birthday.
At 12:45 early Sunday morning, the two cars collided, and Jordan's selfish actions killed four people and shattered a family.
Fifty-one-year-old father Elroy "Roy" McConnell, 19-year-old Kelly, 24-year-old Nathan, and 28-year-old Elroy III were pronounced dead at the scene.
Back at the beach house the family had rented on the Gulf Coast were the boys' mother Amy, Nathan's wife and daughter, Elroy's wife and son, and Kelly's girlfriend.The incident left three widows and two young children who will grow up without a father.
According to WTSP, the family described Kelly, who grew up in Orlando, where the family lives, as "as a tough guy who loved football and played rugby on a club team at the University of Miami."
His Facebook page has been filled with remembrances from dozens of friends and classmates, with one writing, "I remember poking fun at you for writing 'payed' rather than 'paid' on your 100 fliers you spread around campus, and you did nothing but chuckle at your mistake. Even that night, when you had the opportunity to pulverize me as we played football, you seemed to have nothing on your mind but having a good time and winning. It seemed like this was the personality you kept at all times; carefree and living in the moment. Goodbye friend, your absence on campus will be felt for a long, long time."
