Friends, family mourn Bountiful teen Hunter Johnson after fatal holiday crash
Hunter Johnson, 17, died July 3 in a head-on vehicle crash that also injured three others.
This image shows Hunter Johnson during one of many fishing trips he went on throughout his life.
Hunter Johnson, 17, died July 3 in a head-on vehicle collision that also injured three others.
This photo shows Hunter Johnson with his mother, Tammy Johnson, at Christmas time.
BOUNTIFUL — Friends and relatives say Hunter Johnson, 17, will be remembered for having a good heart and taking care of others.
The Bountiful resident died Sunday, July 3, in a head-on collision near Strawberry Reservoir that injured his mother and two others. He was going to be a senior this fall at Bountiful High School, where he played football and wrestled.
“He was a good kid,” said cousin Dustin Powers, who recalled going fishing with Hunter and their grandpa.
Powers said Hunter always tried to be friends with everyone.
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Hunter Johnson, 17, died July 3 in a head-on vehicle crash that also injured three others.
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This image shows Hunter Johnson during one of many fishing trips he went on throughout his life.
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Hunter Johnson, 17, died July 3 in a head-on vehicle collision that also injured three others.
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This photo shows Hunter Johnson with his mother, Tammy Johnson, at Christmas time.
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This photo shows Hunter Johnson (left) with his mother Tammy Johnson. Hunter died July 3 in a head-on vehicle accident that injured three others.
“He’s looking down on everyone and protecting them as he did here,” he said. “He had one of the biggest hearts I have ever seen in anybody.”
The cousin said Hunter would help out at the Bountiful Food Pantry often, even when he didn’t need to.
Powers said Hunter liked helping his grandmother at the pantry and making a difference.
• RELATED: Head-on collision near Strawberry Reservoir kills Bountiful teen, injures 3
His mother, Tammy Johnson, said she and her son were a great team.
“I was divorced before he was ever born,” Johnson said. “It’s been him and I for 17 years.”
Johnson said she would always call Hunter her “handsome son.”
“He and I had a great relationship,” she said. “We loved each other very, very, very much. We had a special bond, more than you’d think a teenager would have.”
She said her son was funny. “He was always cracking jokes, always doing something to make me laugh, to make other people laugh.”
Johnson said her son tried in vain to hide his tender heart. “He was loved by so many,” she said.
Hunter’s girlfriend, Danielle Patton, said he was sweet and thoughtful.
“Every day without fail he would ask me how work was or how my day went, and then he’d listen,” she said. “Everywhere we went he would hold open the doors for me.”
She said her favorite memory was on a floating dock at youth conference.
“We ended up playing King of the Hill,” she said. “Time and time again he pushed everyone on the dock off. Every time I tried to push him off, however, I always ended up coming along.”
She said she and Hunter at times stayed up way too late texting.
“No matter what we talked about though, I always treasured those conversations, even though I was exhausted the next morning,” she said.
Friend Fischer Wells said Hunter was funny and sincere. “When he told me something, I could count on it as the truth,” he said. “No matter what we were doing, we were always cracking each other up.”
Kristy White, an aunt, told of Hunter’s care for his mother.
“Just last Christmas, Hunter opted to utilize all of his lawn care money he had saved to buy his mother an iPhone,” she said. “He was so excited about it and was on the edge of his seat with excitement — like a kid in a candy store — waiting to give her the gift.”
Supplied/Elery Johnson
This photo shows Hunter Johnson (left) with his mother Tammy Johnson. Hunter died July 3 in a head-on vehicle accident that injured three others.
She said Hunter was great with kids.
“Never did he mind being the jungle gym for his smaller cousins,” she said. “He might have even encouraged it.”
An Aunt, Elery Johnson, said Hunter was a light in the world. “I couldn’t help but be happy whenever I was around him,” she said.
Tiffany Edwards, also an aunt, said Hunter was selfless and grateful.
“He never envied others, even when he seemed to have nothing at all, and that is something very few people can claim they’ve accomplished in this lifetime,” she said. “He found the silver lining in the darkest times and brought pure joy to those around him in every situation, most often through his wit and spectacular humor.”
Aunt Becca Johnson said he loved scaring people. “He was always popping around the corner trying to get you,” she said.
“His ever happy and loving demeanor touched the lives of all those around him,” said cousin Ashlie Powers. “He put the world before himself, taking care of the needs of those around him before his own.”
Her memories were of years of Nintendo 64 and chasing lizards around the family cabin with her cousin.
Cousins Tallon Lloyd and Kayden Brimley remember Hunter for spending time with family. Tallon said he enjoyed a concert with Hunter recently. Kayden said he played his first game of paintball with Hunter and enjoyed an airsoft war with him and others at the family cabin.
Aunt Wendy Brimley said she was so glad she took a picture of Hunter just before he got in the car July 3, just before the accident that took his life, as the family now treasures that photo.
A gofundme.com page is helping the family raise funds for a private funeral and burial to be held next week.
You may reach reporter JaNae Francis at 801-625-4228. Follow her on Twitter at @JaNaeFrancisSE or like her on Facebook.