‘He had one of the sweetest hearts’: Loved ones remembering 11-year-old killed in ATV crash

MACKVILLE, Ky. (WKYT/Gray News) - Loved ones and community members are helping a family who lost their child in a tragic ATV crash.

Authorities said 11-year-old Benton Boone Lester died last Friday night after the ATV he was on crashed near his home in the Mackville community in Washington County.

A prayer service was held Monday at the family’s Unity Baptist Church.

“We had people lined up outside the door of the church,” pastor Jordan Simpson said. “They came to give love to this family and support them.”

Benton’s family members also spoke during the service.

“His mom spoke for a few minutes and encouraged everyone, ‘You can have that peace, too. When trials come, no one wants them. When death comes, you have that peace.’”

The Washington County Sheriff’s office said Benton was riding a 4-wheeler that night when it appeared to go off the road and hit an open drain. The 11-year-old was airlifted to an area hospital, but he did not survive.

Pastor Simpson says Benton loved the outdoors, his family and his faith.

“I called him Davy Crockett, Jr. He loved the outdoors; he also had one of the sweetest hearts I had ever met,” he said. “He was a 70-year-old trapped in an 11-year-old’s body. He loved going to the country store, having breakfast with the old timers and swapping stories.”

Simpson said Benton will be missed, but the community and the loved ones he leaves behind are coming together in his name.

The church will host Benton’s funeral at 2 p.m. on Friday. His parents have asked riders of ATVs, motorcycles, and side-by-sides to line the streets as a show of support.

Several businesses are taking up donations or donating part of their proceeds to the Lester family for funeral expenses.

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