Inside the home of Marcia and Joel Baker, the grandmother sits in an armchair, holding four cut-out drawings.

  • Alex Wells, 11, and granddad Joel Baker killed in crash
  • Their pickup was struck by high-speed Camaro, FHP says
  • Marcia Baker: Alex and Joel had a strong connection
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"This is one that he just did yesterday," Marcia said Friday. "It's a scary tree."

The drawings are special, because they belong to her grandson, Alex Wells, 11.

"When he opened up that package of construction paper, his eyes lit up," she laughs, recalling Christmas, when he received a present of construction paper.

Alex died with his grandfather, Joel Baker, in a crash Thursday night on State Road 15A.

Joel, 73, had just left Bible study and had picked up his grandson so he could spend the night. But the pair's pickup was T-boned as it left Alex's neighborhood by what troopers said was a Camaro moving at "a high rate of speed." Joel was ejected from the pickup, which burst into flames with Alex inside.

Alex's parents are heartbroken. Marcia picks up a paint stick and explains why it was so special to Alex.

"This is what we called his 'stemmy.' It is something that would calm him down, so when he was feeling anxious or whatever, he would walk around and flip it and feel it," Marcia said.

Alex was autistic and had a strong connection with Joel.

"He and Joel had a really neat bond. Alex, being autistic, walked to a different drummer," Marcia said.

Marcia and Joel were married for 52 years.

"He was a loving husband, loving dad, loving grandfather," Marcia said.

To this day, she remembers their first dance at a college fraternity party.

"Somebody said, 'This guy wants to dance with you,' and I danced with him, and that was it," she smiles.

Joel was a staple in the DeLand community, a man of faith and service. He worked at Florida Power & Light for more than 50 years. But his real passion was being a volunteer firefighter.

"He ran on all the calls," Marcia said. "He had a radio in the house, and whenever something went off, he was gone. (He was) first one out the door, middle of the night," she said. "(He) got up and went to work at the power company the next day."

Just a few weeks ago, he bought the fire station a new mailbox. It sits shiny and red outside Kepler Ridge Station 42.

"He ordered it, and the guys put it up for him," Marcia said. "So he will be sorely missed, sorely missed."

The driver whom troopers say was behind the wheel of the Camaro that struck Joel's pickup has not been identified and was still in critical condition Friday afternoon at Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach. Troopers are still investigating whether the driver was impaired.