Taylor Jeffrey Bowden, 23, and driver Rafael Fernandes De Aguiar Valim, 25, died in the crash, according to a news release from the Polk County Sheriff's Office. A third man in the crash – Robert Lewis Edwards, 22, – was rescued after spending several hours in water up to his neck.
T.J. Bowden was the son of Jeff Bowden, a former Florida State assistant coach under his father who is now on brother Terry's staff at Akron.
"I can't express the grief I feel right now," Jeff Bowden said in a statement. "Please keep us in your prayers."
“Our whole family had just celebrated Christmas together in Panama City, as well as celebrated T.J.’s graduation from Florida State just three weeks ago,” Bobby Bowden, 84, said in a statement released by the University of Akron. “We will cherish those last memories together with T.J. forever.”
The body of Taylor Jeffrey “T.J.” Bowden, 23, of Winter Haven, was found in the car when rescuers arrived. Investigators said the Mitsubishi crashed at about 2 a.m.
Tallahassee.com reported that Taylor Bowden was visiting his mother, Luann Corby in Winter Haven.
This is the second time a grandson of Bobby Bowden has died in a car crash. In 2004, 15-year-old Bowden Madden was killed when the car he was in with his father was hit on Interstate 10 by a utility truck during Hurricane Frances. The teen’s father, John Madden, was also killed.