TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A mother is speaking out exactly one week after her 19-year-old son was killed in a DUI crash Saturday, Dec. 6, a loss she says has left her family and loved ones devastated.
“At this very moment, I feel very numb,” said April Joy of Wesley Chapel. “I feel raw. I have so many emotions, but yet I have none. I feel angry. I’m sad. I’m heartbroken. I’m just a little bit of everything, but nothing, if that makes sense.”
Joy says she had shared what she believed would be another routine goodbye as Tyler prepared to head out.
“I gave him a hug and a kiss like I do every time he leaves,” she said. “That’s something we always did. I didn’t think anything of it.”
Later, Joy, her husband Andy, and their 11-year-old son Dylan were asleep when a call came in during the middle of the night.
“Andy, his dad, had woke up, and he said, ‘April, get up. Tyler’s been in an accident,’” Joy said. “I didn’t really believe it.”
The family rushed out the door to head to Tampa General Hospital.
“We were under the impression that he was just hurt,” she said. “About fifteen minutes before we got there, someone called and said he had passed.”
According to Tampa Police, the crash happened around 2:30 a.m. Saturday on County Line Road East near Grand Hampton Drive.
Investigators say Tyler was riding a 2012 Kawasaki motorcycle eastbound when a 2016 Nissan Rogue traveling westbound attempted to make a left turn and violated the motorcycle’s right of way. The motorcycle struck the front left side of the SUV.
Credit: April Joy, Tyler’s mother
Credit: April Joy, Tyler’s mother
Credit: April Joy, Tyler’s mother
Credit: April Joy, Tyler’s mother
Police identified the driver of the SUV as 50-year-old Mauricus Labron Green. Officers say Green showed signs of impairment at the scene and was arrested for DUI manslaughter. Tyler was transported to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Joy says when she arrived at the hospital, she was able to see her son.
“Because he had a helmet on, his face was like an angel,” she said. “There wasn’t a scratch. I touched his hair like a mother does. I talked to him and told him I loved him.”
As the family grieves, Joy says she is trying to remain strong for her younger son, who is struggling to understand life without his older brother.
“He’s like, ‘Mama, my brother’s not going to see me pass fifth grade. He’s not going to see me graduate high school. He’s not going to see me go to college. He’s not going to teach me to drive,’” she said. “What do you say to a fifth grader?”
Joy adds that Tyler had recently achieved multiple accomplishments, as he was recently accepted into the University of Phoenix after already completing his associate’s degree in high school.
The late 19-year-old’s mother adds that Tyler had just finished reading the entire Bible, which she had also done years ago.
“He was selfless. He served and he loved and he was kind. And for that to be gone, it’s really… it’s really hard.”
Friends say Tyler was a source of strength and unity.
“He was all of our closest friend,” Tyler’s friend Shane Kline said. “He kept us grounded. We had some troubling times in the friend group, but he managed to bring us all back together.”
Jacob, another friend, said Tyler’s death is a reminder of how quickly life can change.
“Live life to the fullest because life can just be like that,” he said.
Joy also adds there should be no tolerance for drunk driving.
“There’s absolutely no reason to drive drunk at all,” she said. “He made a choice to drink and drive, and he took a life.”
She says she worries not just about her family, but about other young drivers.
“Our laws feel very soft to me,” Joy said. “I worry about all the young kids out there driving.”
According to online arrest records, Green has since been released from jail.
8 On Your Side reached out to Green for comment, but he declined.
Joy shared these last words to her son:
“I love you to the moon and back and beyond,” she said. “To infinity. That was our thing.”
The Tampa Police Department continues to investigate this incident.
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