This is what the paper had to say about my friends son and the accident. I have a somewhat memory page set up on myspace if ya'll care to view it..I still have Lee as a friend on Myspace as well if you would like to view his page as well. the link is on the Hobbies Section of my page here.
Thankyou all for your comments and support ..
LaGrange Daily News (GA)
Man, 19 killed by train
staff reports
Published: March 31, 2008
A 19-year-old LaGrange man died Sunday when he was hit by a train near Alexander Street. Jonathon Tanner of 502 Freeman St., was pronounced dead at the scene.
The train's conductor, J.C. Pittman, told officers that as he came around the bend at Alexander Street about 12:40 p.m., he saw a man walking in the middle of the tracks.
Pittman said he laid on the horn, but the man continued walking and didn't pay the train any attention.
Pittman said he immediately applied the brakes but, due to the length and weight of the train, was unable to stop.
Police walked the tracks looking underneath the train and found Tanner's body near Greenville and Daughtery streets.
An autopsy was scheduled for today at the GBI crime lab in Atlanta.
LaGrange detective Lt. Eric Lohr said he was informed that Tanner, who was unemployed and not in school, had left his home on Freeman Street about 10 or 11 a.m. and was headed to a friend's home on Greenville Street.
Tanner used to walk the railroad tracks regularly when the family lived on Baugh Street, Lohr said.
Copyright, 2008, LaGrange Daily News (GA)
Johnathan Tanner
Published: April 3, 2008
Johnathan Lee Tanner, our loving son, brother, and friend was taken from us on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at age 19. He is survived by his father, Johnny Akins of LaGrange; mother and step-father, Tracy Tanner and Leon Black of Meriwether County; three sisters, Rexy Johnston of Idaho, Morgan Akins of LaGrange, and Heaven Akins of Florida; grandparents, Betty Card-well of Alabama, Freeman Roscoe Akin and Mildred Tarver Mathis of LaGrange; two uncles, Thomas Tanner of Massachusetts, and Donny Tanner of Alabama; and his special aunt, Alma Rene Clark of LaGrange.
Services are scheduled for this Friday at 1 p.m. at Mission Baptist Church on Roanoke Road with a fellowship following service. Please bring a covered dish.
The family has asked that all flowers be omitted. "May his spirit be as happy as our hearts hurt."
Copyright, 2008, LaGrange Daily News (GA)
Father: Teen hit by train was happy, loving
Matthew Strother; Staff writer
Published: April 3, 2008
The 19-year-old who was killed Sunday after a train struck him near Alexander Street was described as caring and hardworking, with his prospects looking up before the accident that took his life. Johnathan Tanner lived on Jackson Street with his father, Johnny Akins, and grandfather. His mother was Tracy Tanner of Senoia, formerly of LaGrange.
Tanner attended Callaway High School and was planning to start taking GED courses. He was "a typical 19-year-old," Akins said. He had a page on the MySpace networking site with a lot of friends; liked computers, video games and Japanese animation, or anime; and planned to study video game programming and Web design at West Georgia Technical College.
"I was planning to get my culinary degree," Akins said. "So we had talked about going to school together."
Akins said Tanner was in good spirits because he also recently had a promising job prospect and was excited about working. He told his dad about his plans to get an apartment and how he would decorate it with posters for anime and video games.
"Everything was looking up for him," Akins said.
On the day Tanner was killed, Akins said he was going to visit friends on Greenville Street. Tanner had walked the railroad tracks all his life, and Akins said he and Tanner's mother had taught him how.
Tanner asked his dad to borrow his jacket because he had loaned his to a friend. Akins gave him the jacket and Tanner started walking the track to Greenville Street.
Police Sgt. Roger Pointer said Tanner gave no indication he heard the train coming. He was walking with his back to the train and didn't turn his head or acknowledge the train's horn. There also was no evidence he had headphones in.
"I'll never understand that - why he didn't hear it," Akins said.
Akins said some people have asked him if he thought it was suicide. He said Tanner was a writer and sometimes his writings would get dark and he was "a little gothic, but that was part of his personality." He was able to deal with his problems and was in high spirits when he left the house.
"To me, he was never suicidal," Akins said.
The GBI crime lab released the body this week. Investigators are waiting on toxicology results from Tanner's body from the GBI crime lab, which may take up to a month. They also are waiting on information from CSX railroad that will show the train's speed and other information. The only witnesses to the incident were the train's conductors.
"I know he will be missed by a lot of people in this community," Akins said.
A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Mission Baptist Church on Roanoke Road. There will be open mike for friends to share memories of Tanner. A MySpace memorial also has been set up tagged "In loving memory of J.L.T." where friends can post messages about Tanner.
Matthew Strother can be reached at mstrother@l agrangenews.com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.
Tanner
