Widow determined to honor husband's legacy

Father of 5 killed in New Year's Day crash that also sent wife, kids to hospital

LAKE CITY, Fla. – Nearly two months after a fiery New Year's Day crash that took the life of a father of five, his wife spoke publicly for the first time.

Levi Town, 33, died after a car with two teens inside collided head-on with his SUV on US 90 in Baker County.

The other driver, 17-year-old David Schafer, and his passenger, 17-year-old Jessica Perry, were also killed.

Town's wife and five children were hospitalized, some with serious injuries. But all are now out of the hospital and back at their Lack City home, dealing with their grief.

"They miss their dad of course," Amber Town said of her children, ages 6, 8, 9, 10 and 13. "But they are very supportive and encouraging to each other. And they are just really good kids."

Levi Town, 33, of Lake City, right, was killed in a head-on crash in Baker County.Amber Town, 31, and five children suffered serious injuries in the accident.

Amber Town said Levi was the perfect man for her. Their relationship was like a fairytale -- only better.

"We had the kind of marriage you usually only hear about," Amber Town said. "He, we were really good at it. And it was great because we never went to bed mad. He never left for work without waking me up to kiss me goodbye, and we never fought.

"Levi got to hear every day how perfect I thought he was."

But everything changed on the first morning of 2015.

The Towns were heading back from Jacksonville. They had gone to watch the fireworks over downtown. Levi Town was driving. His wife and five children were asleep in the SUV.

"I just remember telling him, 'Thank you for taking us to the fireworks,'" Amber Town said. "And I fell asleep holding his hand."

Town family children

Soon after her high school sweetheart lost his life in a fiery crash that also sent Amber and her five children to the hospital.

"It is not wishful thinking that I hope he went to heaven," Amber Town said. "I know he did because I know the kind of man he was. And I know the Lord, and I know they are together."

Last week, the last of the Town children still at the hospital -- 13-year-old Levi -- got to go home.

The Towns' friends, family, church and community, have been by their side every step of the way. While they were in the hospital, volunteers raised more than $125,000 and completely renovated the Towns' home inside and out.

"There is no thank you that could be big enough," Amber Town said. "The best thank you that I can offer is to raise my kids right so that when they consider the success story that my family is still going to be in the end, they can be proud that they helped when they did and had a part in it."

It's been a tough journey to get here, but this is a tough family.

"Levi's biggest goals in life were to raise God-fearing kids that served the Lord and treated everyone well and work hard," Amber Town said. "We will just keep going in the direction that he started us in."

At last check, the crash was still under investigation. Over the past few weeks, News4Jax has tried multiple times to get an update from the Florida Highway Patrol on what caused the crash, but so far, we haven't heard back from a spokesman.Â