JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A family is grieving after they say a 14-year-old accidently ran over his 1-year-old brother in the driveway of their Sherwood Forest home.
The family says the two were best friends and that the younger boy, Giovanni, looked up to his older brother as a hero.
“His oldest brother was his idol, and I guess he was just following him, and this was just something that was a tragedy. A tragic accident,” said Lawrence Smith, uncle to the brothers.
More than a dozen family members gathered outside the family’s home Friday afternoon. Many drove from South Carolina and Georgia after they heard what happened.
'It was a tragic accident': Tonight a family is left shattered after a teen accidently ran over his 1 y.o. brother, Giovanni Smith, in the driveway of their #Jacksonville home Thursday. Hear from their loved ones who say his brother was Giovanni's hero, coming up on @wjxt4 pic.twitter.com/tMugodnh5C
— Renee Beninate (@reneebeninate) July 30, 2021
Loved ones told News4Jax it was too painful and too early for the parents to return to the scene. They shared photos of Giovanni during his first birthday.
They’re memories his family is now holding extra close.
“There’s nothing we can do to bring him back, but we can live with the memories that we have,” Smith said.
Three brothers made up the family of 5, including a 6-year-old. Sharhonda Jefferies, their aunt, said they were all very close.
“The youngest is just always following around his big brothers,” she said.
Family members said the father of the boys named his trucking company after his sons -- 3 Kingz Transportation.
“Keep us in prayer,” said Radana Scott, aunt to the children. “Keep the mother, the father, my two nephews -- keep them in prayer.”