The first of many vigils to be held for an Acworth dad and his son was held hours after a fatal accident on a North Carolina fishing pier.
John Wernowsky, 51, and his 10-year-old son, Jake, died about 2:20 p.m. Friday, when someone hit the throttle while docking a Yamaha WaveRunner.
They crashed into a pier on Sunset Beach and were thrown about 50 feet from the watercraft. Both are believed to have died from blunt force trauma.
Wernowsky’s wife and daughter were also on the trip, but they made it to the dock before the accident.
Back home in Acworth Friday night, neighbors told Channel 2 Action News they gathered at the family’s church to mourn and pray for them.
“They were just awesome people,” Katie DiMartino. said. “They would do anything for anybody, just give you the shirt off their back. Just great people.”
Neighbor Jim Riekel told Channel 2 he has known the Wernowsky family for nearly a decade. He lives across the street from the family in Acworth.
He said Jake, who he knew since birth, was a lacrosse player.
“He is special to everybody,” Riekel said. “That was John’s little guy. I mean, he loved him to death.”
Neighborhood friends told the news station they are going to support the mother who lost her husband and son as well as the daughter who lost her dad and brother.
They said more vigils will be held at the church in the coming days.
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