UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — A Prince George's County community came Friday night to remember three Wise High School alumni, including NFL rookie Khyree Jackson, whose lives were cut short after they died in a car crash Saturday morning.
Jackson and two of his former high school football teammates – 23-year-old Isaiah Hazel and 24-year-old Anthony "AJ" Lytton Jr. – were killed when a speeding, possibly drunk driver crashed an Infiniti into their car in Upper Marlboro. Hazel and Jackson were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. Lytton died later at the hospital.
The vigil was held Friday evening where the men graduated high school.
Jackson had just been drafted by the Minnesota Vikings and was about to start training. He was a collegiate star at the University of Oregon, who also held a candlelight vigil Thursday in his honor.
"I just want to start off by thanking you guys and the rest of the nation for the prayers and the ongoing support you guys have been giving to Khyree and our family during this trying time," Jackson's father, Raymond Jackson, said at the vigil. "When he was here, I had no worries. I never had any worries when he was here."
The investigation into the crash is still underway, but police say speed and alcohol may have been factors. As of Friday, the 23-year-old driver who crahsed into the car the three men were riding in is not facing any charges.
WUSA9 spoke with a man who had previously coached all three of the men killed, and he said the friends always stayed close to their roots.
"All of those young men were tight ... [they] played together," said LaDawn Parrish, who previously coached all three men. “We are all sort of at a loss and you try to get facts from what you think happened and try to know from different reports, but in the end, what you do know is that we lost three young men. That’s final.”