NEWBERRY, S.C. — Newberry High School lost a junior two-sport athlete when he became the victim of a fatal car crash over the weekend.
Davonta Ruff, 17, was in the passenger seat Sunday evening when the vehicle he was in crossed the center line and hit a tree on Harold Bowers Road in Newberry County.
Ruff's mother, Kimberly Davenport, said he was always the peace-keeper in their house. As the youngest of four, he was always smiling, and was rarely upset.
"Dee, or as they say 'Dog Bone' brought a lot of laughter. Even into our household. I really didn't realize how much he touched a whole community," Davenport says, holding back tears.
"It don't take but one time to meet Dee, and you'll never forget him," she continued. "I know he's in heaven, because he brightened up so many people."
Ruff played both basketball and football at Newberry High School, and both of his coaches had nothing but good things to say about the athlete they called 'Dog Bone.'
"He was a remarkable young man," head football coach Phil Strickland said choking up as he remember the player. "He had a really great smile. He's going to be missed sorely."
Basketball coach Chad Cary watched fellow students mourn the teen at a vigil the school held. He said it was the toughest day he's had in his 20 years at the school.
"It just shows you... the people here at school enjoyed being around him and how well he was loved," Cary said. "He'll be missed."
Ruff was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle. He was taken to the hospital where he later died from blunt force head trauma, according to the Newberry County Coroner's Office.
Numbers from The South Carolina Highway Patrol show between January 1 and April 1 of 2018, 218 people died in car crashes in the state. 80 weren't buckled up.
From January 1 to April 1 of this year, 210 people died in car crashes. 65 did not wear a seatbelt.
The accident remains under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol.