"I just don't understand. Life could be taken so quickly," said Master Sgt. Edward Jackson.
His son, 17-year-old Greg Jackson, was looking forward to going to becoming a mechanic after graduating from high school. His life ended tragically when he decided to take a shortcut to get home.
Hanging out with another friend, he decided to drive his motorized dirt bike across a small dam on Tookany Creek near the intersection of Bingham and Garland.
Ruben Bolden was fixing his car when the friend ran up to him and asked him to call police.
"I said what's going on and he said 'Well, my friend just fell in the creek,' so I ran over there as I was calling the police. When I got over there, I couldn't see anything," said Bolden. "I was hoping that I would see an arm or a leg or somebody, because if I would have seen anything, I would have jumped in to try to save the young man. But, I didn't see anything."
Fire rescue and divers from the police marine unit scoured the creek, which authorities said is between 10 and 12 feet deep. The creek was also swollen and the current fierce after heavy rains earlier in the day.
Almost two-and-a-half hours after Jackson fell into the creek, his body was recovered. Medics said he was unresponsive, but they rushed him to Einstein Medical Center anyway hoping that he could be revived. It was to no avail.
"It's so sad. I mean he was a good boy. All he did was ride his little bike up and down the block since was little. It's just a hurtful thing right now," said his neighbor, Donna English.
"All I can say is he's gonna be deeply missed. It's tragic we don't have any safety precautions around that creek to keep those mopeds and stuff, or even walking, across there," said Jackson.
Jackson, who works in the Army's National Ground Intelligence Unit, came home safely after a stint in Iraq. Greg was his youngest son. He has two other sons and a daughter, who is also in the army.
