The family of a 21-year-old man killed earlier this year in a car crash is bringing smiles to others in his memory. Michael Girardot died of injuries sustained in a Jan. 27 crash in the 1100 block of 3rd Street North in Jacksonville Beach.
His family established the Michael Girardot Smile Fund to raise money for Operation Smile. The program provides free cleft lip, palate and reconstructive surgeries to children and teens through worldwide medical missions and now, in memory of a son and brother, to give the gift of smiles.
“We are utterly stunned and devastated by this tragedy. No parent or sibling should ever have to go through this but as a family we wanted to honor Michael in some way and help bring some positivity out of this tragedy,” his family said in a statement. “This is a charity that is important to us as a family and feel that Mike would be proud.”
Girardot’s father, Robert, of Atlantic Beach said his son had “a heart of gold” who was working his way through college to become a mechanical engineer. They shared a love of the beach and spent time together playing and living life to the fullest, biking, swimming, surfing, flying radio control airplanes, watching Blue Angels Air shows, playing football, enjoying fireworks and witnessing the sea turtle hatchings make their way out of the nest.
“This seems like a bad dream,” he said. “We’re just trying to figure out how we can make something good come out of this really bad thing. And so that’s Michael’s legacy. He has two really young sisters that love him and don’t even understand what’s going on. They won’t understand for years.”
Mikey, as he was known to his family, was on his way home from work at Winn-Dixie in Ponte Vedra about 11:30 p.m. Jan. 27 when he was struck and killed in a high-speed crash on 3rd Street North near 11th Avenue North in Jacksonville Beach. Girardot’s vehicle struck a utility pole and he died at the scene, according to Jacksonville Beach Police.
“These tragic situations take a while to sort out,” the family said of Girardot, who was an organ donor. “He was an incredibly generous, loving and gentle soul. His final gift to this world was to give countless other families hope for another tomorrow through healing by donating his organs. No parent or sibling should ever have to go through this, but as a family, we wanted to honor Michael in some way and help bring some positivity out of this tragedy.”
