JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Family and friends are mourning the loss of a Jacksonville husband and wife killed in a high-speed crash in Nashville on Friday morning while celebrating their 29th wedding anniversary there.
Nashville police said the car that hit them was a stolen Jeep.
Family and friends confirm Kathy and Kirk Granfors were the victims. The couple lived in East Arlington but also had deep ties in the Jacksonville Beach community.
“She would watch out for my husband and myself. If she didn’t see our flag out for a few days, she would always call and check to make sure that we were ok.”
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Kathy and Kirk Granfors’ next-door neighbor said she spoke to Kathy just hours before she died. The neighbor asked to not be identified so soon after her friend’s death.
“She told me that they were going to Nashville for their anniversary, and she was excited about that.”
According to Nashville police, the two were in a taxi early Friday morning. As their cab was traveling through a green light at an intersection, the speeding Jeep Cherokee hit the passenger side door of the taxi.
Officers said Kathy Granfors was pronounced dead at the scene and her husband Kirk was transported to a local hospital where he later died.
“Kirk was he was a sweet man. I’d like to kid with him a lot, but he was a nice, hard-working man. He really loved his grandchildren, and he loved Kathy.”
Friends of the Granfors said the two lived in East Arlington, but were heavily involved in Jax Beach baseball, and they leave behind three children and six grandkids.
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As for the driver of the taxi, Nashville police said he was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The suspect is 37-year-old George Chaney, and police said he will be arrested for a parole violation when he recovers. He was also transported to a hospital.
“I don’t have words to say. I don’t know what should happen to that person. It was such a tragic and senseless thing to happen.”
Chaney was already facing charges from a recent case. Nashville police said just last month on March 2nd, Chaney was arrested for auto theft, reckless driving, and other counts. He was released on a $49,000 bond before Friday’s deadly crash.
The loved ones of Kathy and Kirk Granfors also put up a GoFundMe for the family as they try to cope with this loss.
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