Tragedy struck only hours after a U.S. Marine Corps veteran shared a touching post on Facebook about his excitement for 2016. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Matthew DeRemer died on New Year’s Eve after a suspected drunken driver collided with his motorcycle.
Medics pronounced him dead at the scene of the crash, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
“Last day of 2015,” he wrote on Facebook around 10 a.m. Dec. 31. “For me, I’ll be meditating through all I do, on this entire year ... I really don’t know where I’ll end up tonight but I do know where I wind up is where I’m meant to be.”
The post has sincegarnered more than 17,000 likes and 6,500 shares.
On Sunday, family and friends gathered at the intersection where DeRemer was struck, WTSP reported.
"He touched a lot of people's lives," DeRemer's friend, Wayne Gutierrez, told the news station. "Sometimes those are the ones that get chosen first."
Authorities arrested Steven Lee Clarke, 58, on one count of driving under the influence – manslaughter, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Records from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office showed he was released on a $20,000 bond on Jan. 1.
