CINCINNATI — A sea of green, gold and silver balloons filled the sky Tuesday as family and friends gathered to remember Darnell McKinney Jr., one of two people killed in a head-on crash on Interstate 71 Monday afternoon.
The balloons were released in front of McKinney's East Price Hill home in his favorite colors, celebrating the life of a man who left behind a large family and a community that loved him.
"I just want the world to know that my brother was a good man," said Lakesha James, McKinney's sister.
McKinney, 49, was driving northbound on I-71 in Union Township when a southbound car crossed the median and struck his vehicle head-on just before 1 p.m. Monday, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The other driver, 28-year-old Micaela Pedicone, a teacher at South Lebanon Elementary School, also died at the scene.
James said her brother leaves behind seven children and a 1-year-old granddaughter.
"He was a proud pawpaw. He loved to dance. He loved to sing. He loved to make people laugh," James said. "And that's just tragedy for our family."
James said her brother was "the glue" of their family, caring for their retired father and working to pay off his house.
Hear how McKinney's family and friends describe him in the video below:
"He was the jokester, he was the dancer, he was the provider, he was just an upbeat guy," James said. "He loved the Bengals. He loved the tailgate. You know, he loved to be loud, he loved to sing, he loved to laugh, he loved to dance."
James described McKinney as "an upstanding guy."
"He was loved all over, in every community," James said. "He was a party guy. He was a working man. He was a good brother. He was a good uncle. He was a good nephew. He was a good cousin. He was a good friend. He was a good worker. He was a strong black man."
McKinney worked as a custodian at ReGeneration School in Bond Hill. Morris Mingo, dean of students at the school, told us he's known McKinney since high school.
"He was a wonderful brother. I call him a brother because at our school, we're a family," Mingo said.
Mingo said McKinney went far beyond his custodial duties, serving as a mentor and role model for the kindergarten through fourth-grade students.
"When we were dealing with behaviors and different challenges with scholars, he would be talking to the kids as well, trying to get them to do the right thing, giving them incentives," Mingo said. "He's a wonderful person, and I'm glad that I got to reconnect with him later in life and to see that he cared about people and that he gave everything for other people."
Mingo said the school community struggled Tuesday, the first day back after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
"It was the hardest day I've had working at school," Mingo said.
Mingo said multiple students arrived at school in tears and had to go home early.
"There were so many parents coming and just picking up kids that we hadn't told them, but they found out, they heard and the parents knew."
The Kings Local School District shared a statement about Pedicone, saying she was "a valued member of the school district who cared deeply for her students and colleagues."
The district said her loss "is felt profoundly through the district."
South Lebanon Elementary was closed Tuesday to allow students and staff to grieve. The district said Pedicone's family does not wish to share a photo of her at this time.
"My brother, he was a very upstanding guy. He was loved all over, in every community," James said. "He was a party guy. He was a working man. He was a good brother. He was a good uncle. He was a good nephew. He was a good cousin. He was a good friend. He was a good worker. He was a strong black man."
The crash remains under investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
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