KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Thursday, an East Tennessee family marked the birthday of a victim in a fatal boating crash. Conner Catlett would have turned 13 years old.
In July, he and his family decided to head out onto the water at Norris Lake. While the kids were tubing, the family learned tragedy had struck. A person rushed down teh lake and told there had been a boating accident, and said there were injuries.
Chris Catlett, Conner's father, learned almost immediately he had passed away.
"[He was] someone who will talk to you, to anyone, whether he knew you or not. Very energetic, outgoing. Never met a stranger," he said. "Before school started, he just randomly came home with a pair of pink Crocs on his feet."
He was the boy with the neon pink Crocs, and his bright energy matched the shoes. His death rocked the community — from his family, to his hockey team and to his admirer, named Headley. She was a teammate with Conner.
"She thought he was cute. I heard that several times. And he had a nice smile, was what she said," said Misty Black, mom of Conner's teammate. "She was pretty much dead-set in her heart. That was the boy she was going to marry one day. It might not be anytime soon, but she cared about him a lot."
On Thursday, his family and community marched to justice with the same pink Crocks that Conner wore.
"It's evidence about boating safety. People need to understand that boats are even more dangerous than cars in many ways, and we have too many accidents and too many deaths on the waterway," said Don Bosch, the attorney for the family.
His family and their attorney said they hope the tragedy would bring changes to boating safety. Their attorney also said they expect progress on an investigation into his death by mid-September.
"I've devoted every fiber of my being to ensuring that we get justice for our son," said Chris.