CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – On Feb. 3, 2012, Tyler Head was hit head-on by a drunken driver, killing him instantly. Although Tyler has been gone from this world for nine years in flesh, those who love him have kept him alive in spirit. That effort has continued this year, despite the pandemic.

“We made the decision to not have the regular Tyler Jackson Head Memorial 5K this year because we did not want to put anyone at risk for COVID, but we wanted to keep the TJH Memorial 5K in the forefront of everyone’s mind,” said Gina Head-Hieber, Tyler’s mother.

The family decided to sell T-shirts instead this year. The T-shirts are $15, and all proceeds will be split evenly between two causes that were important to Tyler: Crohn’s and colitis research and the Tyler Jackson Head agricultural scholarship at Austin Peay State University.

Tyler was an agricultural student at Austin Peay, and before he was killed, he had dreams of owning his own farm.

“As this ninth anniversary looms in front of us, we miss our Tyler Jackson Head so very much,” Gina said. “Tyler’s death was 100 percent preventable if this individual had not made the choice to drive drunk.”

Gina has devoted her time to prevent what happened to Tyler from happening to anyone else.

“God willing, we will be back with the TJH Memorial 5K in 2022 continuing to raise funds,” Gina said.

To place an order for a T-shirt, email Gina at burntchurch60@yahoo.com or visit her Facebook page here.

To donate to Crohn’s and colitis research, contact Michelle Chianese at mchianese@crohnscolitisfoundation.org.

To donate to the scholarship email Vonda St. Amant at stamantv@apsu.edu.