A MOTHER REMEMBERS HER SON SHE WAS ON THE SAME FLOAT WHEN 'FREAK ACCIDENT' LED TO HIS DEATH

Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) October 8, 2001
Edition: Final Section: City & Region Page: B1

A MOTHER REMEMBERS HER SON SHE WAS ON THE SAME FLOAT WHEN 'FREAK ACCIDENT' LED TO HIS DEATH

Author: Valarie Honeycutt, Herald-Leader Staff Writer

Dateline: NICHOLASVILLE

Article Text:NICHOLASVILLE -- Cheerleading sponsor Janet Clem was in her glory Saturday as the West Jessamine High football float she was riding finished the parade route. Her three daughters were on the flatbed truck with her as was her 15-year-old son, the quarterback. It was shortly before noon. "Well, we've had another successful Jessamine Jamboree parade," Janet Clem remembers saying out loud, glancing back at Les, the boy people were starting to call a natural-born athlete. Then, she heard a commotion. The flatbed trailer they were riding on had made a sudden movement, causing Les to fall and become trapped under the rear wheels of the trailer, police and coroner reports would later say. When the truck driver hit his breaks, Janet and her three girls were also thrown from the float, but were not injured. Les was talking to rescuers, moaning, "My legs, my legs," Janet Clem said. Nicholasville firefighters lifted the trailer off Les and a helicopter rushed him to the University of Kentucky hospital in Lexington. In a few hours, doctors would be telling Janet and Les Clem Sr. that their son's legs were the least of his injuries. But Janet already knew that: "You could see the tire tracks across his chest." His lungs had collapsed. There was a lesion on his liver. His bladder was torn. The internal bleeding got worse and he died a short time later. As the ranch-style house in Jessamine County yesterday filled with dozens of teen-agers, Janet and Les Clem sat on their daughter's twin bed, making funeral arrangements with the football coach and officials from Southland Christian Church. Janet wore one of Les' T-shirts. Around her neck was a cross that he loved. She talked about a day recently when some of the school's cheerleaders were making signs to decorate the school. The cheerleaders told her they asked Les "'Who do you love, Les?'" And he replied: "My Mom." A sign saying "Les loves his mom," still hangs in the school hall. "He was the only sixth grader to ever make the high school baseball team. I taught him in class and he was so smart. He played basketball, too," Janet Clem, also an elementary school teacher, said about her son. Bubba, so nicknamed by the doctor who delivered him, was not into name brands, said his mom. "At the funeral, I want the boys to wear their football jerseys and you wear your coach's shirt," she told West Jessamine Football Coach Wes Johnson. To others in the room, she said, "He hated that dress up thing. Wear a shirt from Wal-Mart to the funeral." A few miles away at the West Jessamine High cafeteria, School Board Chairman Karl Smith was praying, surrounded by 250 parents, students and psychologists who had gathered for a counseling session. Superintendent Linda France said counselors would be at the school today, with private sessions offered for those who witnessed the accident. "You can't imagine how this community is feeling," said Mayor Sam Corman. "This was a good wholesome family who did everything together." Corman said he will meet with local officials who organized the 22nd Annual Jessamine Jamboree, who had removed vendors from Main Street this year because they were worried about street safety. Les and Janet Clem said they don't blame anyone for what they call a "freak accident" and think the Jessamine Jamboree should continue as a community tradition. In addition to his parents, Leslie Harrison Clem Jr. is survived by his sisters, Tiffany, 18, Kaitlyn, 12, and McKenzie, 9. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. today at Southland Christian Church. The funeral service is set for 3 p.m. Tuesday on West Jessamine's football field. Hager & Cundiff Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Memorial scholarship An athletic scholarship fund has been created in memory of Leslie Harrison Clem Jr. Donations should be sent to Citizens National Bank of Jessamine County, 201 North Main Street, Nicholasville, 40356 in care of John Tranter. Caption:
PHOTO COURTESY OF CLEM FAMILY
Janet Clem was with her son, Les, at the Regional World Series Playoffs for 13- and 14-year-old All-Stars last year in Fort Wayne, Ind. In addition to baseball and football, Les played basketball.

Copyright (c) 2001 Lexington Herald-Leader

Record Number: 0110100165