KENT COUNTY — While questions linger about the fiery crash that claimed the life of a young man in May, one truth remains clear: Travis Gofourth had dedicated allies in his corner — right up to the very end.

The life of Gofourth, 19, was abruptly cut short in the early hours of Saturday, May 10, during a single-vehicle crash in Walker. 

The crash occurred at the 3800 block of Butterworth Drive Southwest, according to the Walker Police Department, which responded to the scene, along with the Walker Fire Department. The investigation is ongoing, police officials said on June 11. 

By all accounts, Gofourth was striving to build a future for himself. But the devastating crash and State Sen. Mark Huizenga's desperate attempt to rescue him from the wreckage starkly reveal the unpredictable nature of tragedy and the quiet, often unseen battles that shape a life.

This is the story of Gofourth, pieced together through the recollections of those who knew him and the details of his final moments.

Gofourth: The unfolding narrative of a young man

Gofourth's life began with profound loss; his mother died of cancer when he was very young and his father, Brian Gofourth, raised him on his own. Brian Gofourth has been diagnosed with cancer as well. 

Now, he is trying to cope with the loss of his youngest child. 

“He was a great kid. It’s a huge loss,” he said through tears. “It’s just terrible. He was the youngest out of my seven kids. I had him his whole entire life. The day he was born, the doctors handed him straight to me. I’ve never been without him.”

Brian said his son, following high school graduation, was determined to do things his way. But they were still close, even if they didn’t see each other every day. 

“Last time I saw him, I hugged him. We parted on good terms,” he said. 

Brian said, as a father, he did the best he could, struggling with drug addiction himself and dealing with his health issues. Brian said he has been sober since March and recently was baptized. 

“This has ripped me apart and I don’t know how to function,” he said. 

But Brian said he refuses to fall back on drugs to numb the pain of losing a child. He said he learned Travis had also been baptized before his death and that brings him some comfort. 

“Life has taken a big turn. But when I lost Travis, I could not lose myself, sobriety or my faith. I’ve been deep in this Bible and God has a purpose for me. That is the only thing I understand and I have to go with it and just trust,” he said. 

For now he plans on leaning on his faith for comfort and tries to get through one day at a time. 

“I am proud of raising my kids and that is about the only thing,” he said. “Losing Travis is just all a lot to process.”

Sorting out a life of his own

Despite a challenging start, Travis Gofourth developed a deep passion for basketball and sports. 

It was that time in his life that he met a family that cared for him like he was their own. 

Ottawa County Commissioner Jacob Bonnema and his family became pivotal figures in Travis' life. Bonnema's son, Tag, two years Travis' senior, took him "under his wing," as Bonnema described. Gofourth became a regular at the Bonnema home, sharing meals and playing basketball with Tag.

“Travis absolutely loved basketball, loved anything to do with sports, but mainly basketball and Tag was a sports star, and that was just really fun that they shared that in common,” Bonnema said.

However, the Bonnema family soon noticed his struggles with basic necessities such as consistent home-cooked meals and clean clothes. They stepped in to provide support, offering him a sense of stability and belonging. 

And for a while, that seemed to keep Gofourth on track. 

After graduating from Zeeland High, however, Gofourth faced significant hurdles. He lacked a driver's license and a job, and the process of obtaining either wasn’t easy.

Gofourth found himself unhoused, moving between relatives and friends before reaching out to Tag Bonnema for help.

The Bonnema family committed themselves to helping Gofourth achieve independence. Gofourth learned to use public transportation for job interviews, and Bonnema helped him save money for a car. 

Despite numerous job rejections and short-lived employment when he did find it, Gofourth persisted, Bonnema said.

He eventually found a new path at Gateway Mission in Holland. He entered a nine-month program that provided structure, a daily schedule and responsibilities. 

When Gofourth secured a job at a Holland restaurant, he told Bonnema, "I can be successful. You're going to see, 10 years from now, I'm going to call you and you're going to see how successful I am.”

That was all anyone who knew and loved Travis wanted for him, Bonnema said.

“I have fun little memories of Travis. The kid didn't have very many wins. But basketball was his world and he could tell you every stat of every player that's played in the last 10 years. He was a walking encyclopedia,” Bonnema said. 

One of his favorite memories is when Gofourth got an opportunity to go head-to-head with Meg Morehouse, a Hope College Basketball guard, whom Bonnema knew. 

“They decided to play horse in our driveway before we headed off to a Spartan basketball game together, and he beat her,” he said. “It was like he won the lottery. He was flying, he was so happy. It was awesome.”

Final days

In the days leading up to his death, Gofourth was actively engaged with leaders at Restoration Church in Zeeland. According to Bonnema, Gofourth’s church friends spent time with him on Thursday, May 8, two days before the fatal crash. 

The early morning of May 10 brought Gofourth's journey to an abrupt and tragic end. The crash, which occurred in the very early morning hours, woke the wife of Huizenga, who then alerted the senator.

Huizenga stepped out of his home to see a glow of fire and immediately ran toward the scene. There were five individuals in the vehicle; four other passengers had managed to escape and pleaded with Huizenga to "help Travis."

They were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

The vehicle had struck the concrete steps of a nearby house with significant force, bending its frame and jamming the vehicle doors shut. Huizenga could see an unresponsive Gofourth inside.

In a desperate attempt to reach him, Huizenga tried to pry open a window with a piece of steel. But the flames rapidly intensified, ultimately forcing him to cease his rescue attempt. There was nothing anyone could do to save him, Huizenga said.

“I got the window jam opened up a little bit, and I could not get the door open. And the fire was getting closer and closer and growing quicker by the second. And in that moment of adrenaline, you don't really have a sense of time or space,” Huizenga said.  

“And you know, I looked back at my phone and the pictures I took, and it was four minutes from when I got there to the point where I told the other passengers, ‘Look, guys, we have to get away from this car before it explodes,’” he said. 

“The police weren't even there yet. The fire department wasn't there yet, and we tried everything we could, but there was just simply nothing that we could do.”

Aftermath and reflection: The ripple effect of loss

News of Travis' death reverberated through the lives of those who knew him.

Bonnema recounted the moment he learned of the tragedy. Because Gofourth used the Bonnema family's address on his driver's license, authorities initially believed he was a relative. Authorities contacted Bonnema directly, informing him that they believed his grandson had been killed. He asked which one of his two grandsons they had identified. 

“It was the longest few seconds of my life,” Bonnema said. When they said Gofourth’s name, Bonnema was shocked.

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Bonnema passed along Brian Gofourth’s number to the police officer so he could be notified of the terrible news. 

“I can only imagine that, for Brian, he's buried his wife, and then he found out that he now is not long for this world. And now he's burying his son. It’s just unbelievable. Just hard, hard cards to be dealt in this world.”

Huizenga later contacted Bonnema, acknowledging Bonnema's connection to Travis, and shared his detailed account of the rescue attempt. 

Huizenga said he grapples with remorse for not being able to save Travis, but understands he did all he could do. 

“It was so horrible, and it happened so quickly, but at the same time, I played through this scenario 150 times in my head, and I really tried everything I could to get him out, but there was nothing I could do,” he said. 

Huizenga is a Republican member of the Michigan State Senate, representing the 30th district of Kent County. His political trajectory includes serving as a city commissioner and mayor of Walker before his election to the state House, then the State Senate.

— Heather VanDyke covers northern Ottawa County for the Ottawa News Network. Contact her at newsroom@ottawanewsnetwork.org.