Memphis Skateboarder Killed In Crash With Truck;Skateboarder Hit By...

Look, all the people from my high school are slowly dying off in ridiculous accidents and no action is being taken when it happens. I am sick and tired of it.

Clay was 25 years old and has a daughter that is 6 months old that means everything to him. He has more people that call him their best friend than most people could ever dream of in a lifetime. This was the type of guy that was never in a bad mood- always had a funny joke to tell. He will be deeply missed by SOOOO many people and was loved a lot!

The guy that was killed was a very loving, free spirited, and great father who loved life. He was always laughing and was just one of those guys that always lived in the moment. To see people make such harsh and rude comments just breaks my heart and I hope no one has to go through hard losses no matter how the person passes. He was just in my wedding last weekend and he will truly be missed. Just sickening how people are so rude....

People are so quick to judge. None of us were there, but we all know how it ended. A wonderful friend, father, son, and brother was killed in an ACCIDENT. The poor driver of the truck will have to live with it for the rest of his life...I am sure he would have stopped if he could or would have known sooner. However, this was an accident and I am so sorry for the skate boarder's family and friends. I am also sorry for the driver because this will be a hard memory for him. Rest in Peace my sweet friend.

Wow- his name was Clay Hopkins not that you deserve to know and he graduated from Cordova high school in 2002. He's a memphian and he was a great skateboarder. He's not dumb, or reckless- he's a friend, a brother, and a son. He was the guy that everyone loved - God forgive you for speaking of him that way.

hate whitey wrote:

i bet it was a young african american run down by a redneck cracker garbage truck driver. if a black man would have run a white kid down we would all be wanting to lynch this guy!

Who cares sbout his race? He was a human being!

Clay was absolutely one of a kind. He was always upbeat, happy, and a free spirit. He was a son, a brother, and a father to little Charlie and my son's longtime loyal friend. He loved everyone and would not want any of this negative discussion attached to him in any way. He was enlisted and leaving for the Airforce in October. He had hopes and dreams for a bright future. He gave great hugs and I will miss him!

Mike wrote:

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HOWEVER, MEMPHIS WILL NEVER BE EDUCATED OR AFFUENT AS NASHVILLE. LOOK AT CRIME, SCHOOLS, ETC AND THERE IS NO COMPARISON. WE WILL BE THE SECOND BIGGEST CITY IN TN IN A DECADE OR LESS. THE METRO ARE THERE HAS DOUBLED IN 25 YEARS AND THE POPULATION HERE IS PREDOMINANTLY BABIES MAKING BABIES. LOOK AT THE AFFLUENCE IN AND AROUND NASHVILLE AND LOOK HERE. I HAD HIGH HOPES 25 YEARS AGO AND AM NO JUST SAD.

Well Mike, that's a different conversation, I don't disagree with that except to say, people here are not worse human beings than there, they're just, on average, poorer. There's as much hate and ill will in Nashville as anywhere else. LIke I said, read comments on Nashville websites and it's no different there than here in that regard.

I am surprised that many of you could figure out how to even turn the computer on, let alone get all the way to this forum and post such insightful and intelligent comments. That being said, This is a sad ACCIDENT. I hope the victims family and the driver heal as peacefully as possible under the tragic and unfortunate circumstances.

2 things who was this man. i didnt see anywhere who he was. And why was it not on the news. and this is to the A*** called white haters. If you hate us so then please leave. So back to hecne where you came from Afaria.And please dont for get this. IT'S US WHITE PEOPLE THAT'S PAYING FOR YOU TO LIVE IN THE STATES. AND EAT AND SELL DRUGS AND BE THE LAZY A** YOU ARE. OH THAT'S YOU WORK KILLING , SELLING DRUGS AND ALL TAKEING OUR MONEY THAT WE WORK FOR..

Clay was a very cool guy who I'll never forget: -(

hate whitey wrote:

i bet it was a young african american run down by a redneck cracker garbage truck driver. if a black man would have run a white kid down we would all be wanting to lynch this guy!

No! It was a WHITE male run over by a BLACK male for your information! It is so sad that this city is so racist! I am SICK of it!!!!

It was a commercial garbage truck,picking up trash bins after business hours when they have more room to maneuver those big a** trucks.
You know,there is a whole world that works at night so that they don't inconvenience people who work during daylight hours.
A truck as heavy as those are can leave skid marks even if they aren't going fast because the driver probably stood on the brake pedal til it was on the floor.It's the length of the skid mark that the police use to determine the speed of the vehicle.
While feeling for the family,I have to ask why he thought it was safe to be out in the street even with such a low risk of traffic?
I ride a bicycle where I go and I know not to tangle with motor vehicles because they outweigh me by a serious margin.

bree wrote:

I find it odd also that the garbage truck was out during the middle of the night. And judging by the skid mark left of the street, he had to be traveling at a fairly high rate of speed.
My thoughts are with the family of this young man.

Obviously,in your world,everyone works from sun up to sun down and is home after that.Who do you think works in the all night restaurants,patrols your streets and emties the garbage bins behind your workplace?
Not everyone works on daylight schedules.

ccy wrote:

My question is "why was the garbage truck out at 2am? " Were they really paying someone to pick up trash that late at night?

It amazes me how cruel some of these comments are. Friends and family can read it. As his friend, you have no idea how tremendous of a tragedy this is for his family. This guy had a 6-month-old baby girl. As someone said before me, I pray this doesn't ever happen to someone you love. You sure wouldn't want your loved one being called "dumb" who "learned the hard way" by a heartless a-hole on the internet. Just because you can hide behind your computer and type hateful comments and no one knows who you are, doesn't mean you can't act like a decent human being. No one deserves this tragedy.

I have lived in MEM for 9 yrs and this is was a horrible accident and to read some of these comments make me wonder about this city. As grumpy7 sad, it is sad for the young man and the driver. the person who mad the comment about the driver must have not been black well guess what you are wrong he was and i know him he wouldnt have hurt anyone on purpose. Yes garbage trucks are out at that time. My prayers go out to both families.

hate whitey wrote:

i bet it was a young african american run down by a redneck cracker garbage truck driver. if a black man would have run a white kid down we would all be wanting to lynch this guy!

Actually it was a white kid and he was run over by a black driver.

doughesson wrote:

Obviously,in your world,everyone works from sun up to sun down and is home after that.Who do you think works in the all night restaurants,patrols your streets and emties the garbage bins behind your workplace?
Not everyone works on daylight schedules.
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Lol everybody keeps asking the same question as if they didn't realize these guys, as many others work at night.

Reading the comments of his friends, seems like he was well liked and I can understand his passion for sk8'ing. Such an unfortunate event, I send my condolences.