Roy family urges safety while memorializing son killed on Halloween


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ROY — Crystal Conover's front lawn is covered with Halloween decorations. But she said it's not so much for her own love for the holiday, but for her son's.

"He loved to dress up. He loved to scare people. He loved just the fun behind it," Conover said. "And don't get me wrong, he loved his candy too."

Just a couple of years ago, Conover was ready to shut Halloween out of her life. Just the year before, her 13 year-old son, Jayden Rathbone, was struck by a car while trick-or-treating with family in Uintah. He died days later from his injuries.

"I wasn't going to do anything for Halloween," Conover said. "I didn't plan to put up my decorations, to do anything but kind of have pity."

Conover said a close friend convinced her otherwise.

"She said, 'Crystal, it's what Jayden would have wanted.' "

Now Conover and her family decorate both to remember Jayden and to celebrate his life. But they also hope trick-or-treaters and their families will get an important message.

"We don't want any other family to go through what we had to go through," Conover said.

As people visit her home near 2900 West and 4450 South Halloween night, Conover said each child will get a glow stick and a brief safety message printed on a slip of paper.

"If one parent, one teenager reads it and we get through, then we're doing good," Conover said. "Help Jayden light the way, so we have no fatalities this year."

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