GOODBYE FRIEND POEM WAS ALSO WRITTEN BY KATIE NORRIS.
The Story:
BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP -- A 31-year-old Huron Township man is jailed and authorities expect to arraign him Tuesday on charges stemming from Saturday's hit-and-run death of a 13-year-old skateboarder.
John "Jonathon" Graves was killed as he rode his skateboard with two friends on the shoulder of Sibley near Racho Road about 12:30 a.m. Saturday. The boys had been staying together and went out to visit Graves' girlfriend, police and his family said.
"He was a good boy, a smart boy, not a wild boy," said his father, John Graves of Harrison Township.
His mother, Darla Gawenda, said the teen had asked to spend the night at his friend's house.
"I haven't really been able to understand what happened," she said. "Somewhere in the course of that night, they decided to go pick up their friend and they were on their way home."
The other boys described the striking vehicle as a dark pickup truck that never stopped. Police on Sunday got a telephone call from a man who said he loaned his black 1991 GMC Sierra pickup truck to a friend, and it was returned with front-end damage.
"There was blood on the damaged area so we were pretty certain we had the correct vehicle," Interim director of Brownstown Township Police James Sclater said about the vehicle that was impounded and turned over to Michigan State police forensic laboratory technicians for examination.
Officers went to the Huron Township home of the man who had borrowed the truck about 4 p.m. Sunday.
"He was remorseful and confessed to his actions. He admitted to drinking. He has an extensive driving record," Sclater said. "We are working with the Wayne County prosecutor now on getting charges against him."
In addition to his father and his mother, John is survived by his step-father, Joseph Gawenda.
Visitation is 5-9 p.m. Thursday and noon to 9 p.m. Friday at Howe Peterson Funeral Home in Taylor. The funeral will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home, followed by services at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Trenton. Burial is at Our Lady of Hope Cemetery in Wyandotte.