MACON, Ga. — Thursday was supposed to be Darius Riley’s wedding day, but he was killed in a wreck on I-75 in Macon on Wednesday. Now, two families are grieving.
“You know, they were going to get married. That's all he cared about. Them saying 'I do' to each other. I have their rings and their marriage license right now on my dresser in my bedroom waiting to take to the church today,” said his mother, Varncheria Napier.
Napier says she’s still in shock and that she was on the phone with him before the wreck.
“Less than 10 minutes later, his fiancé phone called me back and she was all in a panic,” she recalled.
Riley was 25 and a Perry High School graduate. He worked at the Academy Sports warehouse in Jeffersonville.
“Darius; that was my baby. He was a jokester, he loved family, he loved family outings, family coming together,” said Napier.
He was also the proud father of an 11-month-old daughter and his family says his fiancé, who was in the car at the time of the accident, just found out she was pregnant.
“It’s like a sadness fighting happiness. I know that despite what has happened, God don’t make no mistakes,” said his stepfather, Antonio Napier.
Riley’s older brother, Austin Brown, says he’ll cherish their close relationship and he’s trying to stay positive.
“I'm more at ease because I don't have to wait for another phone call, so now it's just to me and my relationship with my God and my brother and how I’m going to do it. That's how I look at it,” said Brown.
They all say Riley was loved by many and he will truly be missed. His fiancé is doing okay after the accident, and she was released from the hospital Wednesday night.