A 12-year-old Four Oaks Middle School student died Sunday afternoon after an off-road vehicle rolled over while he was riding it on private property in southern Johnston County. Austin “AJ” Paradise was remembered this week by his community as a funny kid who loved baseball and his faith, as hundreds turned out for a candlelight vigil and his school offered grief counseling to grieving classmates.
According to FOX8 WGHP, citing the Johnston County Sheriff's Office, Paradise was riding a UTV on private property along the 1300 block of Shaws Pond Road in Four Oaks when the vehicle rolled over. The crash happened Sunday, Oct. 25. Other outlets covering the tragedy have described the vehicle differently: both JoCo Report and ABC11 identified it as an ATV accident, while FOX8's report, attributed to the sheriff's office, called it a UTV. The discrepancy in vehicle classification has not been resolved publicly.
Community Rallies With Vigil and Support
Hundreds of community members gathered Monday night with candles to honor Paradise, per FOX8's account. A family friend called the community's response beautiful.
Johnston County Public Schools is providing grief and crisis support to students and staff at Four Oaks Middle School, the same report notes. Paradise was a seventh-grade student there, and the school's response reflects the scale of the loss felt among his classmates and teachers.
Funeral Set for Thursday in Benson
A funeral service for Austin Jay Paradise is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at Rose and Graham Funeral Home in Benson, according to his Legacy.com obituary. Paradise's family will accept donations through the funeral home, and the earlier JoCo Report piece noted that anyone wishing to contribute could make checks payable to Rose & Graham Funeral Home to help cover expenses.
Separately, an adult and a child died in a side-by-side UTV crash in Yancey County. WYFF reported investigators said speed was not a factor and called it a tragic accident; the victims' names were not released.
North Carolina law sets specific rules for young ATV riders. Under G.S. 20-171.15, it is unlawful for a parent or legal guardian to knowingly permit a child younger than 8 to operate an all-terrain vehicle. Separately, G.S. 20-171.19 requires riders younger than 18 to wear eye protection and a Department of Transportation-compliant safety helmet when operating an all-terrain vehicle off a public street, highway or vehicular area, except for certain under-18 retail electric service employees conducting power line inspections. No details about equipment or protective gear used in Paradise's crash have been released.
For now, Four Oaks is leaning on each other, with neighbors and classmates continuing to share memories of a boy known for his humor, his love of baseball and his faith.
