Terrence Joseph Kelly is his name. He also went by T.J. and Officer Kelly. On Thursday night he was hit by a car as he was crossing the road in front of the Winn-Dixie where he lives.
He is an Irish man, and a former Vietnam vet who was drafted at a very young age. Once he got back from the war he attempted a job as a cop for a time. However, he was very sick from what had happened in the war and ended up homeless in his thirties; he's been living in the woods ever since. He told me he felt more comfortable that way.
December 15 was his birthday, he just turned 59 years old, though he looks a lot older. He has a bunch of scars, especially on his bald, heavy bearded head. When i first met him he was being bandaged up at his camp because he had passed out while standing and his smacked his skull. Luckily, he is too hard headed for it to do any real damage and too tough to complain..... lol
About a week or so ago he had fallen in a similar incident and hurt his hip pretty badly. Again, he never complained, and he still limped himself through the woods the long distance it took to get to the little store where he bought cigarettes, food, and beer. The last time i saw him he was settling in to watch his friends play spades.
I don't know why he had gotten out into the street that night, it was in the exact opposite direction from where he lived. From what i've heard he was hit by a van going about 70 down that road. He was rushed to Shands, though i don't know how long he was lying there before they got him, the driver was arrested and driving drunk over three times the legal limit. The driver is being held with no bond, and the sentence will be given once the status of T.J.s' well being is established. T.J. has multiple fractures, a crushed leg, a broken skull, and a pelvis that is currently split upwards, exposing organs susceptible to infections.
He is more than likely going to die, though there is still a small chance he will pull through. His nurse told me to tell the guys at the camp that they can go ahead and distribute his stuff, he maybe has a couple of weeks before the infection eats him alive.
If there was a place for him to go, this would not have happened. He couldn't go the the St Francis House, the Hospital, or the Vets, or the Mental Health place, or anywhere else. He lived in the only place where he received everything he needed to survive and was still treated like a respectable human being. The bunch of us have an opportunity to do something, we Have to take it before more people die
He is an Irish man, and a former Vietnam vet who was drafted at a very young age. Once he got back from the war he attempted a job as a cop for a time. However, he was very sick from what had happened in the war and ended up homeless in his thirties; he's been living in the woods ever since. He told me he felt more comfortable that way.
December 15 was his birthday, he just turned 59 years old, though he looks a lot older. He has a bunch of scars, especially on his bald, heavy bearded head. When i first met him he was being bandaged up at his camp because he had passed out while standing and his smacked his skull. Luckily, he is too hard headed for it to do any real damage and too tough to complain..... lol
About a week or so ago he had fallen in a similar incident and hurt his hip pretty badly. Again, he never complained, and he still limped himself through the woods the long distance it took to get to the little store where he bought cigarettes, food, and beer. The last time i saw him he was settling in to watch his friends play spades.
I don't know why he had gotten out into the street that night, it was in the exact opposite direction from where he lived. From what i've heard he was hit by a van going about 70 down that road. He was rushed to Shands, though i don't know how long he was lying there before they got him, the driver was arrested and driving drunk over three times the legal limit. The driver is being held with no bond, and the sentence will be given once the status of T.J.s' well being is established. T.J. has multiple fractures, a crushed leg, a broken skull, and a pelvis that is currently split upwards, exposing organs susceptible to infections.
He is more than likely going to die, though there is still a small chance he will pull through. His nurse told me to tell the guys at the camp that they can go ahead and distribute his stuff, he maybe has a couple of weeks before the infection eats him alive.
If there was a place for him to go, this would not have happened. He couldn't go the the St Francis House, the Hospital, or the Vets, or the Mental Health place, or anywhere else. He lived in the only place where he received everything he needed to survive and was still treated like a respectable human being. The bunch of us have an opportunity to do something, we Have to take it before more people die
