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BROOKSVILLE — The last time James Burch Sr. saw his son alive, James Thomas Burch Jr. was at Bank of America in Brooksville on Friday afternoon.
The younger Burch had been pedaling to errands on his Mongoose bicycle. His dad was headed back to work as a courtesy driver at Autoway Ford.
"I told him to be careful and that was it," James Sr. recalled Saturday morning.
A few hours later, James Jr., 35, of Brooksville was struck by a car while riding on California Street, south of Wiscon Road, a report from the Florida Highway Patrol said.
He was taken to Brooksville Regional Hospital, where he died of his injuries.
According to the report, James Jr. was riding south along the outer white line of the northbound lane near Tampa Street at about 3:45 p.m.
A line of cars heading north slowed as they approached the bicyclist and swerved to the left avoid him, the report states.
Jeffery Dennis Kongeal, driving a 1998 four-door Pontiac, slowed and veered to the right, striking Burch and then a wooden pole, the report said.
Kongeal, 30, of Spring Hill was not injured. Alcohol was not listed as a factor, and no charges had been filed by Saturday morning. The crash remains under investigation.
A nurse from the hospital called Burch Sr. at work Friday to relay the news. On Saturday, he recalled his son as a quiet, down-to-earth man who was close to his family.
A native of Fort Lauderdale, the younger Burch lived with his father and mother, Verna, on Sarasota Street, just off California Street. The Burch home is about 2 miles south of where he was hit and not far from where a 14-year-old girl was struck and killed in September 2008 while walking to a bus stop along California — a narrow, shoulderless road.
Laden with at least one shopping bag, Burch Jr. presumably was headed home Friday.
He was a big fan of Prince, his father said. Posters of the pop star adorn his bedroom, and among his purchases Friday was a purple cup. He'd also bought a stack of movies, including The Replacements, a comedy based on the 1987 professional football players' strike, his father said.
A native of Fort Lauderdale and a product of Tampa schools, the younger Burch was recently laid off from his job assembling furniture, his father said. He never had a driver's license and has always lived with his parents.
"He was just one of those people who wanted to stay near his mom," Burch Sr. said. "He took care of his mom and dad. I was proud of him."
Burch said he and his wife would occasionally remind their son that taking care of them would mean burying them one day.
"We never figured we would be burying our son," he said.
Tony Marrero can be reached at tmarrero@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1431.
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