York County residents share stories of loss, encourage good choices

A few bad decisions led to a wife losing her husband and children losing their father.

Now, Kayla Cox of Rock Hill is speaking out about her husband’s death in the hopes that it will save other families from similar tragedy. Daniel Cox was killed in a Dec. 19, 2016, accident while driving under the influence, Cox said.

Cox said she focuses on the right choices Daniel made, which led to their marriage and birth of a daughter, 6, and son, 3, but she also highlights how wrong choices can destroy lives.

“I want you to be aware that making the right choices brought and still bring great joy in the midst of a tragedy rooted by a wrong one,” Cox said. “While we have many opportunities to right our wrongs, a single choice can strip us of that chance for a lifetime.”

Cox is just one of many people in York County affected by poor choices. Gathered in a Rock Hill church Saturday, Cox joined others touched by loss in spreading a message of choices and their consequences.

The Heaven Leigh Gordon Memorial Tribute was held at Providence Baptist Church in Rock Hill.

On Nov. 3, 2016, 18-year-old Heaven Leigh Gordon was killed in a motorcycle accident on Neely Store Road in Rock Hill. The same wreck also left Adam Taylor, then 21, in recovery with multiple fractures that required surgery and rehabilitation for him to walk again, said Adam’s mother Tammy Taylor.

Gordon left behind her now 2-year-old son, Abel Matthew Taylor.

With the tribute, Taylor and Heaven’s families are working to make sure other families don’t face that grief.

The event doubled as a health fair with information on resources from community organizations such as Keystone Substance Abuse Services on alcohol and drug use, Mothers Against Drunk Driving on driving safety, Catawba Community Mental Health Center on mental health awareness and Cox’s Harley Davidson on motorcycle safety.

“Every choice we make, there is a consequence, good or bad, and we have to live with those choices we make,” Taylor said. “We want to provide awareness and education on very important issues our youth (are) facing on a daily basis.”

One guest speaker, Rock Hill’s Coach Jimmy “Moose” Wallace, touched on the opiod drug abuse crisis in the United States.

“We have a serious drug epidemic in our country,” he said. “We need to know what addiction is. We need to know what rehabilitation is.”

Wallace said that after the school day, especially from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., parents need to know where their children are. He said children should be involved in a team sport and/or other activities to keep them busy and out of trouble.

“We need to expand these programs,” Wallace said. “It’s an investment in the lives of our children.”

Guest speaker Bob Norwood said it’s important that parents are aware of prescription drug abuse and keep their medications away from children.

Norwood is the executive director of the York County All on Board Coalition and former chair of the Rock Hill school board. All on Board is an initiative to keep kids safe and sober.

York County has seven drop boxes at local police departments and the sheriff’s office where people can drop off unused and expired drugs, Norwood said.

Norwood said they have collected more than 4.2 million doses in the seven years since the initiative began.

Heaven’s memorial tribute provided education on making good choices and recognizing that choices have consequences.

“If we don’t provide resources, we’re going to lose a whole generation to a host of tragedies,” Taylor said.

Norman commemorated the two families for putting together the awareness event.

“I want to thank the Gordon and Taylor families for turning a horrible tragedy into a community success,” he said.

This story was originally published November 4, 2017 at 7:11 PM with the headline "York County residents share stories of loss, encourage good choices."