On June 24, 2012, Joseph Hamilton Carroll (a.k.a. Joey Jello) was killed in a hit & run car accident. He was my brother, and this is the story of how his life, and his death, changed my life.

photo by Jon Curley

Joseph Hamilton Carroll was born in Medina, OH on August 18, 1984 and died in Austin, TX on June 24th, 2012, the victim of a hit and run.

He is survived by his parents, Jim & Kris Carroll; his sister, Sarah Franks; his nephews Noah, Nathan & Nash Franks; his half-sister, Jill Cherry of Yukon, OK, and his half-brother, Mark Carroll of Glen Rose, TX, as well as his beloved dog, Buddha and friends too numerous to count.The Carrolls moved to Nashville in 1992 where they joined the membership of Victory Fellowship Church.  As a child, Joey was part of the Kid’s Church worship team.

In high school, Joey was in Army ROTC at Hunters Lane.  He was in the Sophisticats Show Choir at Hillsboro and the Drama Club.  Joey loved performing, earning a Drama Award his senior year.  After high school, he started and played with several local Nashville bands including “the Moonshine Orchestra,” “62Latitude,” and “The Wrong Kids.” His song “PBR” was a local hit.

He was also largely responsible for opening the Nashville chapter of the Rat Patrol Bike Club, a group dedicated to building, riding, and jousting on tall “freak” bikes typically created by welding one bike frame on top of another. The chapter is still active today.

Joey moved to Austin, TX in 2010 where he was a member of the local Moose Lodge and had recently become a member of the Black Label Bike Club. He was also active at Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert of AZ, working from set-up to tear-down of the event over the last several years. Joey worked for Nieri Design, building and welding artisan furniture and ornamental ironwork. The last item Joey was working on was a beautiful gate with a big heart in the middle. As all who knew him will attest, he might have seemed to be made of steel, but like that gate, he had a huge heart. He will be missed by his family and friends.