OCALA – A single twisted guardrail and a pair of muddy work boots left on the roadside are all that remain where Hunter Bailey’s life ended early Saturday morning.
Marion County deputies say the 24-year-old was driving home from a friend’s bonfire around 1:20 a.m. when his pickup truck left SE 36th Avenue near SE 58th Street, over-corrected, and slammed head-on into a large oak. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Speed and wet roads are believed to be factors; no other vehicles were involved.
By sunrise, the quiet stretch of two-lane road had become a shrine. Dozens of Hunter’s friends, still wearing the same hoodies from the night before, stood in stunned silence as more arrived with flowers, Miller Lite cans, and handwritten letters tied to the mangled guardrail.
Hunter was the guy who never let anyone leave his house hungry or heartbroken. The 2019 Vanguard High graduate worked as a lineman for Duke Energy, the same company his dad retired from, and spent every weekend fishing the Ocklawaha or helping neighbors rebuild fences after storms.
“He’d work a 14-hour shift in the rain, then show up at your door with his chainsaw if a tree fell in your yard,” lifelong friend Cody Register said, voice cracking. “That was Hunter. Never asked for anything back.”
On Friday night, just hours before the crash, Hunter posted a selfie from the bonfire: arms around his buddies, caption “Thankful for nights like this.”
Now that photo is the background on half the phones in Ocala.
A GoFundMe titled “Hunter’s Final Ride” has exploded past $90,000 in 48 hours to help his parents with funeral costs and to place a permanent memorial bench at the fishing dock he loved on Lake Weir.
Services are set for Saturday, December 6 at Countryside Funeral Home. The family asks everyone to wear camo or Carhartt (Hunter’s uniform).
“Keep your eyes on the road and your heart full,” his mom wrote online. “That’s what Hunter would tell every single one of you right now.”
Ocala feels a little dimmer today.
Rest easy, Hunter. The linesmen are guiding you home tonight. 🧡🪵🕊️