‘Gone too soon’: Former NFL player Chris Payton Jones killed in car crash
Action News Jax is hearing from the aunt and uncle of former NFL player Chris Payton-Jones, who was killed in a car accident on Saturday. The Florida Highway Patrol reports Payton-Jones was driving in the wrong direction in Alachua County when he hit a pickup truck and his car caught on fire. Jones died at the scene.
The driver of the pickup truck, a 21-year-old man from Middleburg, and two passengers suffered minor injuries. The crash remains under investigation. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< Uncle Edward and Aunt Kelli Payton can describe Chris Payton-Jones in one word.
“One, a dream chaser,” said Kelli. Payton-Jones, a Sandalwood High School alum, achieved his dreams. He played college football at Nebraska, then went to the NFL in 2021, eventually playing for Detroit, Tennessee and Minnesota.
He spoke to Action Sports Jax about this in 2024. “I can’t thank God enough for the opportunity to play at that stage, unlike a lot of people. But like a lot of people, I got drafted in my dreams came true to play in front of thousands of people,” Chris Payton-Jones said to Action Sports Jax in November of 2024.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks ] Those dreams abruptly ended Saturday night, when Jones died in a car crash . His aunt and uncle said he was coming from a photo shoot, as he does photography on the side, and they said he apparently made a wrong turn. “Yeah, he’s gone way too soon and not forgotten.