(WHNT) — Several communities are mourning the loss of three men who died Wednesday in a boat crash on Lewis Smith Lake.
Joey Broom of Snead and John “Kelly” Clark of Cullman were two of the three men who were killed. Friends and colleagues of Broom and Clark tell News 19 these two men were kind and special.
Broom is a familiar name to many people in his hometown of Snead, and one people say won’t soon be forgotten. News 19 was told that everyone knew him, and he was the kind of person to go out of their way to help others.
Greg Ogles was Broom’s childhood friend.
“He’s like a brother to me, just been a part of my life,” Ogles said.
He says the first thing you’d notice about Broom was his smile, and that smile had a way of making even bad circumstances seem better.
“Don’t matter about the situation, how bad the situation is, he always finds a positive side to everything,” he said.
After they grew up together, Ogles and Broom found themselves serving their community together from the town hall.
“When we have a council meeting, he’s always the light of the room,” Ogles said. “Everybody just wants to be around him.”
Ogles said that Broom leaves behind a wife, four children, and ten grandchildren. Those who work at Snead’s Town Hall are asking for prayers for Broom’s family and for the community.
Clark, who went by Kelly, was a native of the Cullman area, a father of four and a grandfather. He worked in the poultry industry and was a part-time realtor.
Clark’s friend and colleague Stephanie Buchanan said he was special, saying: “Kelly was a great guy, honest, always smiling, always laughing and joking around. If you ask anyone who knew him, they’d probably tell you he was their best friend. He was just one of the good ones. It’s going to be hard to fill his spot in some areas of people’s lives.”
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency told News 19 on Thursday that investigators are still working to piece together how this crash occurred, and no further details were available.
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