By Tim Prudente, tprudente@capgaznews.com
8:44 a.m. EDT, August 8, 2014
The sign told neighbors, "It's a boy!"
A young father placed it beside his driveway and wrote his boy's weight — 7 pounds, 10 ounces — and length — 191/4 inches — and name: Jaxon Gunner Humphrey.
That July afternoon, the father fed his boy and put him to sleep. He went to ride his motorcycle and kissed his young wife goodbye. When he hit the car, the impact severely damaged his heart.
The young wife kissed him on a stretcher, hours later.
"I hugged him. I kissed him. I told him everything," Amy Humphrey said. "That I love him. I love him. I kept telling him, over and over again, how much I love him, how much the kids love him, that he had so much to live for … stay with us."
T.J. Humphrey, 30, died four days after he crashed into a car that, police say, pulled into his path.
On July 26, at about 2 p.m., he struck a Toyota Avalon north of Davidsonville, at the intersection of Davidsonville and Governor Bridge roads.
Police don't believe he was speeding or drinking.
Only one of his organs endured the crash undamaged — his liver. It went to a 54-year-old woman.
T.J. was riding the Harley-Davidson Sportster he bought in 2010 — the same black bike in their wedding photos, the same bike they sat atop for photos two years ago, when their daughter Brooklyn was born.
Again, the morning of the crash, the young family posed for photos on the bike, this time with baby Jaxon.
T.J. recognized the risk. He never let Amy ride without a helmet, proper shoes, protective clothing. He refused to let her ride when she was pregnant, even at a few weeks.
T.J.'s own helmet, police say, wasn't compliant.
"I knew it was dangerous, but I wanted him to be happy," Amy said. "If a Harley was how he was going to be happy, then so be it."
A 66-year-old woman from Bowie, Peggy Armstead Minnis, drove the car into T.J.'s path, police say. She and her passenger suffered minor injuries when T.J. struck the driver's side of their car, police say.
The Anne Arundel County State's Attorneys Office is investigating.
Amy said she doesn't dwell on the circumstances.
"I blocked that part out."
It was a tragic accident for everyone, said Ruth Jennings, T.J.'s mother.
"As much as I hate to be in my shoes right now, I would hate to be in hers," Jennings said. "I'm sure she has thought, 'What if it was her son?'"
T.J. graduated from Bowie High School in 2002. He has two brothers and his father plans to restore the wrecked Harley and return it to Amy.
She and T.J. both worked at car-repair shops, she at Subway Auto Body in Odenton, he at Severn Autobody on West Street in Annapolis.
Friends began a fundraiser to help Amy raise her two children.
She's home, recovering from cesarean-section childbirth, and confronting the financial reality of becoming a single mom at 27. "My job on this planet is to take care of my children," she said. "I would never let them down and I would never let T.J. down. So yes, I will be going back to work. They will be going to day care."
The family spent the week together before the crash: Amy recovering from childbirth, T.J. bringing her red roses and sunflowers. On afternoons, he splashed in the baby pool with Brooklyn.
She always called him "her Daddy." Only for T.J. would she brush her teeth.
Now, at bedtimes, she cries and cries.
On Monday, she pointed to her parents' wedding photo.
She said "my Daddy."
Then she traced a finger over his face.
How to help: Fundraising efforts have begun for the widow and young children of Timothy Joseph "T.J." Humphrey, a 30-year-old Edgewater resident killed last month in a motorcycle crash.
To donate and learn more about the family, visit http://www.giveforward.com and search "TJ Humphrey." - See more at: http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/ph-cn-humphrey-fundraiser-0808-20140806,0,5385423.story?page=2#sthash.TkDB2kSM.dpuf
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