Death of a young boy shows community that looks can be deceiving.

Ryan Vinson, age 14, will be forever known as "the boy who's playing hackie sack with Jesus." 

He died September 27, 2004 at 8:21 PMwhile sitting on his skateboard on the side of Highway 431 North tying his shoe, as noted by Stephen Jones, Jr., who had been with the boy at the time of his death.  Jones said that they had been riding their skateboards near his home in Springfield, TN, when Ryan hit a rock and fell, scraping up his hands and knees.  Ryan decided to tie his shoe before getting off the highway an onto the grass in front of the Rehabilitation Center that was located just a few feet from where they were located.  Jones had warned him that there were cars coming, but Ryan verbally figured that the cars would move.  The first two moved, the third failed.

The woman driving the car claimed to have tried to swirve to miss Ryan--having not immediately seen him due to his dark attire, but still managed to run him over and hit another car in the process.  At this time, I'm not sure if he died at the scene or later at Northcrest Medical Center.

The event left a community split.  People who already disagree with the 'lifestyle' of teenagers like Ryan say that he had done it as a suicide, while Jones and others like him--young teenagers who dress in black and listen to metal ("freaks")--say that he was a Christian that loved his mother and loved hanging out with his friends.  At the burial ceremony, one person noted, James Stratton, a close friend of Ryan's, placed his personal CD player into the casket, slipped the headphones around Ryan's neck, turned on his favorite Nirvana song and hit repeat.  Other friends of Ryan's placed personal items such as rings, necklaces and hackey sacks into the casket.

A week later, on October 3rd, at least fifty people turned out at J. Travis Price Park for a candlelit vigil.  Close friends, including James and a few fellow church members read poems, sang "Amazing Grace" and "Stairway to Heaven" and showed Ryan's mother how much he meant to those who knew him.  A few of Ryan's friends gathered for a round of, what will now be named, "heavenly hacky sack."

Ryan will be remembered as a kid who was laid back and did everything he could to help out those around him.  One girl had said that when she was with Ryan one night, she had gotten cold and he built a bonfire and gave her his jacket.  Another girl cried out, "Community Orange Juice."  He was a guy to laugh with, and he was a shoulder to cry on.

Those who attended to vigil, and other who were friends with Ryan have decided to receive tattoos with his name and the dated as a tribute to this fallen comrade.  A few people are also planning on holding a haunted house this month to raise money to help his mother with funeral costs.