The father of a teen baseball star who was mysteriously killed after he was run down by his own truck described the moment his son died at his funeral.
Video footage shows Aaron Solomon, a former news anchor, standing at a podium in Grace Chapel Church, Franklin, Tennessee, while giving a speech to 4,300 parishioners just days after his 18-year-old son Grant’s tragic death.
The teen had been driving to meet his father on the morning of July 20, 2020, for a private pitching session at the Ward Performance Institute – around 50 miles away from his home in Franklin.
After arriving at the facility, Grant’s father called 911 to report that his son was trapped under his truck. When emergency personnel arrived, the handsome 6ft. 4inch athlete was transported to hospital, where he died.
At times during the eulogy, Aaron, appeared animated and even smiled – while at others he was somber and tearful.
Speaking of the day of Grant’s death, he said: ‘Fast forward to Monday morning around 8.45am. Something happens right beside me that is such a blink of the eye, bizarre, fluky, tragic, unexplainable accident that takes Grant’s spirit from this earth.’
He added: ‘The only thing I can rationalize it in my mind is that it is a godly thing.’
Aaron also spoke of a random stranger who he claimed found Christ after allegedly discovering Grant’s belongings – his cellphone, wallet and goggles – in a ditch.
Grant Solomon, 18, died tragically on July 20, 2020 after his pickup truck mysteriously struck him and pinned him under the car
Aaron Solomon gives a peculiar speech at his son’s funeral in front of 4,300 parishioners
Grant’s white Toyota Tocoma pickup truck pictured on the side of the road. The incident took place at 8.40am
Thousands attended the memorial for Grant, where his baseball and basketball jersey were displayed at the service. There was also a slideshow showing pictures of Grant from birth up until his teen years.
During his eulogy Aaron shared memories of Grant as a baby, including his son’s love of dinosaurs and how he and mother Angie discovered their boy was gifted in baseball at age three.
‘All right, you’ve heard a lot about the teenage years with Grant. I’m going to give you a few funny things about Grant you may not know,’ he said.
‘From the moment he was born, he had this wide-eye curiosity about the entire world,’ he said, in part. ‘We had given him the nickname Mr. Peepers. That was his first nickname because of his eyes.
‘He had not turned three years old yet. We’re in the yard, and he’s hitting a plastic ball with a plastic bat off a plastic tee. He’s cranking some out. Mind you, he’s not three yet.’
But then Aaron went on to talk of his own birth father, who died in the Vietnam War when he was just an infant, and how he was adopted by his mother’s husband.
‘Now, as long as I can remember, I’ve always believed that things happen for a reason,’ he said, in part. ‘I think maybe it was born from the fact that my birth father died in Vietnam War when I was just seven months old’.
During his speech, Aaron also spoke about those closest to Grant and how they were processing this horrific tragedy.
He claimed the teen’s loved ones, including his heartbroken family and friends had been experiencing ‘Grantly and Godly things’ since his death.
One of those ‘Grantly things’, Aaron claimed, was that ‘after the accident scene was cleared, a man found Grant’s cell phone, his baseball hat, and sports goggles. He described this as ‘mind-blowing’.
He said: ‘Ironically, this man just happens to know one of my best friends, Lee, and gets my number from Lee, texts me to know that he has Grant’s things, and he wants them returned to his family
‘This man is 55, 56 years old. He admits to Lee that he has never in his life been a believer. Ever. He had done a couple of things in his life and lived rough, just didn’t believe,’ he continued. ‘But, he tells Lee, what happened to Grant Monday has affected him so deeply that he’s a believer now’.
‘That is Grant teaming up with the ultimate coach to win even bigger games than he won down here,’ he added. ‘That’s a Grant Lee thing.’
But others have since contested his recollection about how Grant’s belongings were retrieved.
Grant’s mother Angie pictured with her late son and his sister Gracie
Grant’s funeral was held at Grace Chapel on July 25, 2020
Eric Bonetti, the editor of Anglican Watch, who has been covering the mystery surrounding Grant’s death, reported that ‘Aaron’s tale during the funeral about Grant’s cellphone is nonsense.’
‘Grant had Life360 on the phone, and it was not found by a Good Samaritan, nor was it charged.’
The video of Aaron’s eulogy was posted online nearly a year after Grant’s death in 2021, and has since garnered more than 7,600 views.
At the end of his lengthy sermon, Aaron said: ‘Grant and Gracie, you have both made me the proudest dad in the world since the day you were born.’
‘Grant, I have wished since 8:45 Monday morning that I could trade places with you so that Gracie would have her brother, and that Gracie and Angie and the rest of the people who love you wouldn’t hurt so deeply, and that you could live on and do great things here on this earth.’
He continued: ‘But you have already done more on this earth than me and many other people that I know will ever do in a lifetime.’
Angie said a local shop had donated pink ties so all of the boys at the funeral would have Grant’s favorite shade, and his Southeast Mavericks team came in their jerseys. She added: ‘ I was so proud of the boys.’
But, she also remembers the unbearable pain, explaining: ‘I hadn’t even fixed my hair, didn’t look at my clothing. I was clinging to God. I was trying to be strong for Gracie and for Hannah.’
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift sent a huge bouquet of flowers to the family, which arrived two days after her son’s funeral.
Grant’s pickup truck is pictured in a gravel ditch. The incident report indicated that the point of first impact was the rear end of the vehicle and the car had functional damage
A street view of Ward Performance Institute, the baseball training facility where Grant died. The center is now permanently closed
Grant’s distraught mother Angie is seen at the podium tearful and devastated
Angie shared how much she misses her boy, and often visits his grave as she prays to get justice for her son
Nearly four years on from Grant’s death, Angie continues to fight for answers about her son’s death.
Grant’s death was ruled a parking lot accident by the Gallatin Police Department, and the case was closed.
His devastated family claims there was no investigation, no reconstruction of the scene and no autopsy or toxicology performed.
Angie is working on opening her own investigation into her son’s death and has set up a GoFundMe that has raised more than $131,000 towards their goal of $250,000.
The family has also created a petition on Change.org that has also gone viral to help reopen the investigation. The petition has garnered nearly 330,000 signatures towards their goal of 500,000.
On June 10, Grant would have turned 22. Angie said she won’t stop until she gets justice for her son.