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Crash kills ex-high school star athlete
By JAMAL THALJI and BRIDGET HALL GRUMET DADE CITY -- Former Pasco High School football and track standout Garion Pope died in a car accident early Tuesday morning, pinned underneath his car. Pope, 20, of 38625 Patti Lane in Dade City, leaves behind a 6-month-old son, Garion Jr. "(The baby's) going to be smiling at me," said Pope's aunt, Twanna. "He doesn't know that I'm going to be hurting looking at him, knowing he's going to grow up without a daddy." A Florida Highway Patrol report estimates the accident occurred about 3 a.m. Tuesday. According to the report, Pope was driving a 1990 black Toyota Celica, a gift from his aunt, and was headed north on 21st Street. North of Long Road, the car left the pavement and drove onto a dirt road. Pope lost control of the Celica, according to the report, and the vehicle turned clockwise. The Celica slid toward its left side, into the east shoulder embankment and started to overturn. Pope was ejected from the rear window and fell ahead of the Celica, according to the report. When the car came to rest on its right side, it landed on top of Pope. He was not wearing his seat belt, according to the FHP report. Authorities are not sure how long Pope was pinned under the vehicle when paramedics first arrived at 4:47 a.m., soon after the accident was first reported. "The car was cold; he was cold, so it could have been hours," said Dade City Fire Rescue Capt. Joey Wubbena. Family and friends remembered Pope as a father and burgeoning athletic talent who loved football and who dreamed of playing for a Division I-A program and beyond. "His intent was to go on and become a professional player," said grandfather Andrew Frank Pope. "Because he was that damn good." Nicknamed "Red" because of the color of his hair at birth, as a football player he quickly earned another nickname. "In football we liked to call him 'Dirty Red,' " his grandfather said. "He would knock your socks off." Pope graduated in the spring 2002; and his girlfriend, Kendra J. Burns, gave birth to their son Aug. 8 at Pasco Regional Medical Center. The grandfather said the couple were very much in love, and the child was nicknamed "Little Red" after his father. Pope spent the fall at Dodge City Community College in Kansas, where he practiced with the team as a redshirt freshman. He hoped to use the school as a springboard to a major college football program. He spent this semester at Pasco-Hernando Community College to be closer to his son and girlfriend. His grandfather said they sat on the porch Monday, talking about where Pope wanted to play college football. His grandson told him his first choices were Minnesota or California. "He was a tremendous athlete, a tremendous competitor. He played every down at 100 mph," said his old high school football coach, Ricky Thomas. "He never said much, was an extremely quiet kid, but he never complained either. Wherever the football was, that's where he was. "It was important for him (to go to college.) It was all he talked about, going away, getting out of Lacoochee. It was a goal for him, and he did everything in his power to make it happen." Soft-spoken off the field, Pope did all his talking on the field. The wiry 6-foot, 160-pound linebacker was Pasco County's leading tackler in 2001 with 120 total tackles and was voted to the all-county team by the county's coaches. He also rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns that year. News of Pope's death spread quickly Tuesday afternoon at Pasco High. An aunt came to school to get his brother, Trashade, a junior who plays for the varsity basketball team. Later a schoolwide announcement was made over the intercom. Pope came out for the track team only in his senior year but still finished fourth in the state in the triple jump. He once trained with former Pasco star and current Cleveland Browns linebacker Darren Hambrick. As an athlete, track coach Raven Lewis said, Pope was only beginning to realize his potential. "(He was) a quiet champion, a quiet leader," Lewis said. "He made a very big impact on this track program for the one year he was here. He was so hungry, once he started seeing results from his efforts. He was like 'I'm going to go for this thing.' "He was a bright young man, well-liked, well-respected. Funny. Just a good guy all-around." Lewis said he would dedicate an award to Pope's memory, to be given annually to a member of the track program. The coach wondered what Pope could have done with his talent. "Oh my gosh, if he had that opportunity to run in college, any program would have had a jewel on their hands," Lewis said. "Any He had so much untapped potential." -- Staff writer Greg Auman contributed to this report.
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