CARRABELLE, Fla. (WTXL) - — Family and friends laid to rest 20-year-old Trafton Shiver Saturday in Carrabelle.
The Navy seaman died on Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Rd just two weeks ago.
Shiver was behind the wheel with his parents in the car. Shiver's Jeep ran off the road while coming home from having dinner with his parents June 28. He was thrown from the car and later died.
Now, those who knew him best are giving him a special honor that will live on in the community for years.
"I know that he's in a better place. " said high school friend Cephus Greene, " I know that he's okay."
Sunny skies, but heavy hearts in Carabelle Saturday. It's not how they wanted to spend their evening.
"I miss him. I love him," said friend Ethan Grant.
The church was so packed that people had to stand.
Curtis Carroll, Shiver's uncle says "It shows you the type of person that he was."
All coming out to say goodbye to Trafton Shiver.
"One day, me and him talked about if something like this ever happened, " said Greene, "He would want everybody to be happy."
"I thought it was fake," Grant recalled, "I'm like, these guys don't know what they're talking about."
While both stationed in Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, Grant and Shiver quickly became close friends.
"I felt it. Immediately, I called him and got no answer. My world came crashing, " said Grant.
Overcome with emotions, Shiver's uncle said he can't help but think about all of the things his nephew could have accomplished. His nephew was already a master at arms and holding other awards at the base.
"It's hard when someone that young is taken. He was on the fast track through the service. He was doing well," said the 20-year-old's uncle.
Even in death Shiver continues to succeed. The Wakulla County Sheriff's Office naming him an honorary deputy at the ceremony.
"He's gravity. You just want to be around him, always smiling, always laughing," remembered Grant.
From the memorial friends put up right where the crash happened, to the outpouring of love at his funeral, those who knew Shiver best say that they'll never stop smiling and laughing either, because they know it's what he would want.
This isn't the first time somebody's died on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Road. Keifer Brandon died just a day later, after swerving and flipping over.
The crashes have since prompted Wakulla County officials to better voice precaution in the area.
