Sister recalls Bartow High student killed in hit-and-run as sweet, smart, kind
Zach Clabough was in his first weeks as a freshman at Bartow High School when an unimaginable tragedy engulfed his family.
His father, William Clabough of Bartow, died in September 2020 when a driver smashed through the wall of a convenience store in Winter Haven, striking him in the pre-dawn darkness as he stood near the counter.
Zach, 18, was weeks away from finishing high school as a senior when he became a victim of tragedy Wednesday morning. As he walked toward the Bartow High campus in the dark, a vehicle speeding on Jackson Avenue struck and killed him.
“He lost his dad; he lost someone that could have helped guide him into life and really be there for him as support,” said Zach’s older sister, Dakota Runyon. “It’s crazy that almost the same exact thing happens to him, 3½ years later.”
Runyon, 22, and other family members were grieving on Wednesday, a day after Zach’s death.
The Florida Highway Patrol reported Wednesday that the suspected driver, Edgardo Joel Rosado Perez of South Lakeland, had been arrested and charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash.
Perez, 41, was driving at high speed on Jackson Avenue after fleeing the Bartow High campus, where he was involved in a minor accident after dropping off his daughter, FHP reported. After striking Zach at about 6:55 a.m., Perez again fled in a blue 2018 Hyundai sedan, FHP said.
Troopers found the vehicle at a house in South Lakeland and learned that Perez had departed in another vehicle, a Ford Fiesta, FHP said. Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies found the vehicle parked at the Brandon Mall and soon found Perez inside the mall, FHP said.
By Thursday morning, friends had created a tribute to Zach at a stop sign at Jackson Avenue and Pearl Street, a mound of flowers and balloons and a poster bearing a photo of him. Runyon said that Zach’s girlfriend of nearly a year was leading the effort to memorialize him.
Runyon, one of Zach’s seven siblings, said that her brother walked to school every day, unless it was raining. She said the family house was slightly inside the two-mile radius for access to a school bus.
Runyon said she used to travel the same route and worried about walking in the dark.
“Everything is very dark out there,” she said. “They don't have many lights, and whenever I was walking to school, they didn't have a lot of sidewalks, either. So you were walking in people's yards. You’re either in the yards or in the side of the street.”
Jackson Avenue now has sidewalks on both sides on some stretches.
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Runyon fondly recalled the brother who was four years younger than her.
“When he didn't know you, he was very quiet,” she said. “But once he got to know you, he was very outgoing and open and bright. He was a very sweet kid. I've had so many people reach out to me — his friends, his peers, parents, teachers — and tell me how sweet and smart and kind he was. He just had a good heart.”
Zach developed a fascination with Lego bricks as a youngster, starting with “Star Wars” sets and moving on to cars and other designs.
“He would go to Walmart almost every week and buy him a Lego pack to put together,” she said.
Zach taught himself to play guitar a few years ago, and Runyon posted a photo showing her brother in a guitar store, holding an electric model in front of him. He has the shoulder-length hair of a rocker, offset by nerdy-cool glasses.
Runyon said her brother admired the band Metallica and gravitated toward other heavy metal ensembles. He enjoyed playing video games and regularly rode his skateboard around Bartow.
Zach worked at an Arby’s and was saving money to buy his first vehicle. Runyon said he had planned to look at a truck for possible purchase.
“I just wish more people would have gotten to know him,” Runyon said. “He's so loved. Just with all of this happening, and how many people have reached out and how many people have shared that (social media) post and made their own post about the situation, I wish he would have known how loved he was. And I wish more people would have been able to meet him and see how wonderful of a person he was.”
Runyon created a GoFundMe account to raise money for Zach’s funeral and burial. She set a goal of $10,000, and by Thursday afternoon the campaign had received over $14,500 from more than 300 donors.
“Me and my entire family are so appreciative of everybody that has donated, shared, comment, liked, reacted with the post, really got it out there,” Runyon said. “I never thought that this community would push us that far.”
The driver in the bizarre incident that killed Zach’s father, Demarcus Jefferson, 34, pleaded no contest to DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and other charges. He received a sentence of 19 years.
Runyon said that family members are leaning on each other to endure a second tragedy within four years.
“We're close with each other,” she said. “It's just — it's hard. It's hard having to deal with this one time, and then they’ve got to go through it again.”
As of Thursday afternoon, Runyon said the family was still deciding on plans for a service. Zach’s schoolmates have organized a candlelight vigil for April 6 at Bartow High School.
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Polk County Public Schools issued a statement Thursday:
“This is a tragic loss for Zachariah’s family, and our community. Bartow High Principal Lance Lawson described Zachariah as a quiet, hardworking student who was looking forward to graduation. His friends and teachers cared about him, and valued his presence on campus.”
“This has been a reminder for us that life is precious,” Lawson said in the statement. “You have to love and hug those close to you, because you never know how long you’ll have that opportunity.”
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Sister recalls Bartow hit-and-run victim as sweet, smart, kind
