Family, coach remember Springfield High School basketball player killed in car crash

SPRINGFIELD — Friends and family of Destiny Wells will tell you two things stuck out about her the most: her smile and her heart.

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The 17-year-old was always taking care of other people and acted much more mature than her age would’ve led people to believe.

“Destiny had a way of making everybody feel good about life,” her grandma and ‘bestie’ Victoria Arnold said. “Destiny had a way of looking at the person in a bad situation and trying to make their situation good.”

Destiny’s sister Precious adding, “If we wanted something, my sister was there. If I ever wanted to talk my sister was there. She would always help me with my problems.”

Just days after she was killed in a car crash near Old Clifton Road – it’s now those qualities that people close to her will miss the most.

“It’s like I’m waiting for her to walk in the door from work like, ‘Hi sister, I miss you. I love you,’” Wells told News Center 7′s Jenna Lawson through tears.

Wells was a student-athlete at Springfield High School and had a promising future in basketball. She would’ve been an upcoming senior.

Her coach, Kawambee Gaines, said he talked with Destiny often about her desire to go off to college but then return to Springfield to help with the girls basketball program.

Without kids of his own, Gaines took the news of Wells’ death especially hard. He said he looks at every player he coaches as if they were his own children.

“She loved us and we owe it to her and the community and my basketball program as long as I’m here that we remember Destiny,” he said. “That we remember what her purpose was and the love she gave to so many other people.”

Gaines said Wells’ death serves as a painful reminder that life is too short and to make the most of the time we are given.

Wells’ family said they will still attend basketball games and will work to incorporate Destiny’s memory into the upcoming season.

The evening of her death, the family held a candlelight vigil at a family member’s home where dozens and dozens of people showed up to pay their respects and participate in a purple balloon launch.

“We’re not gonna let Destiny’s memory die,” her grandma said. “Destiny’s memory will live on as long as we have breath in our bodies. We’re gonna do what we do. We’re gonna represent Destiny.”

Funeral services for Wells will be held Friday at Greater Grace Temple on Leffel Lane in Springfield.

Visitation will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and anyone attending must wear a face mask.

A private service for the family will follow but will be live-streamed online.

Cox Media Group