22-year-old Alexander 'AJ' Jennings was struck by two vehicles early Tuesday morning in Charleston, South Carolina.
Chase Stokes is grieving the loss of his Outer Banks stand-in after he was killed in a double hit-and-run car crash early Tuesday morning in Charleston, South Carolina, where season 3 of the hit Netflix series is currently filming.
According to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, a pedestrian was walking along a local road around 2:30 a.m. on July 5 when he was hit by a vehicle that fled the area. The pedestrian was then struck by another vehicle, which also left the scene, according to witness information.
No charges have been filed and Charleston police continue to seek information on the initial vehicle involved.
The pedestrian was transported to the hospital, where he died. The Charleston County Coroner later identified the pedestrian as Alexander "AJ" Jennings.
Kimmie Stewart Casting, which employed the 22-year-old actor, also confirmed Jennings' passing in a post shared to Facebook.
"AJ was a beautiful, kind soul and a bright light every day on set," the agency said in a Facebook post. "He moved to Charleston from New York to work as our John B photo double/stand in this season. I cannot fathom the shock and tragedy of AJ's sudden loss and our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time."
Stokes took to his Instagram Story early Wednesday morning to share the sad news, telling his followers that he is "shattered" over Jennings' tragic passing.
"Still trying to process why certain things happen, and why the world works in the ways that it does. My heart is shattered. Your life was just starting. We JUST talked about how pumped you were about your tunes, how far you'd come with that ole 6 string and your want to keep creating art. Always always making others hearts warm and being so damn selfless, Stokes wrote.
Searching for the right words, the 29-year-old actor said the past day has been a "struggle" for him as he processes the news.
"We all love you, you touched all of our lives and made us all better people and for that, Thank you AJ," he added. "Fly high angel.
Later in Kimmie Stewart Casting's post, the agency noted that Netflix is providing grief counseling for all who need it and urged anyone who wanted more information to reach out.
"I understand this message may be difficult to process for those of you that met & became fast friends with AJ. Netflix HR has grief counseling available, please reach out to me by email or text and I can get you the information," KSC shared.
The agency continued, "I am still at a loss of words how this happened & cannot imagine the pain his family is going through. We will miss this amazing human & his infectious smile dearly."
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