Family remembers 12-year-old Rodney Jean Thomas after fatal Ocoee crash

A Central Florida family is grieving the loss of a 12-year-old boy remembered for his gentle spirit, bright smile and love of music after he died from injuries sustained in a crash earlier this week.Rodney Jean Thomas died Wednesday evening after his family made the difficult decision to take him off life support, according to family relative Christy Reynolds.Rodney was struck by a vehicle around 7:45 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, while in the roadway on Old Winter Garden Road near Blackwood Avenue in Ocoee, police said.According to police, Rodney was initially taken to a local hospital before being airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center. The driver remained at the scene.For Reynolds, who describes Rodney’s family as an extension of her own, the news came through a frantic phone call from Rodney’s mother, Marion.“I got in my car. I was there within five minutes and it was chaos at the scene for sure,” Reynolds recalled.Reynolds said Rodney had been playing with a friend and his younger br