Wake, burial at sinkhole site but not way family wanted it

SEFFNER - There was a wake in a Seffner front yard Tuesday--where Jeremy Bush wept for his brother and kind friends brought bouquets.

"My heart bleeds for the family and it's, it's, it's hard," said neighbor George Kloiber choking up. 

And across the street there was a burial of sorts with no coffin, no headstone and no graveside service. Heavy equipment filled and then lifted chunks of foundation that gave way to a greedy sinkhole.

"If they condemn that house over there and this one here, talk about putting a little park in here putting a memorial for Jeff," said Buddy Wicker.

Wicker owned the home and now the dirt lot where the sinkhole swallowed Jeff Bush and his bed. He says he trusts the County made the right decision to pump gravel and concrete in without getting Jeff out.

"I believe what they said, they told me it was unsafe ground and it could go at any given minute and I believe him," he said.

Wicker raised four children, 13 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren on this property. Now he'd give anything to get rid of it.

"I don't want nothing to do with it," he said.

Folks like Pat Rover tell me the hole has opened-up more than heartache. It's exposed neighbors to fraud and callers who are looking to make a buck off a tragedy.

"We've had three contacts of people wanting to represent you, you know, and it's like ambulance chasers," she said.

Crews carried toys and belongings to a fence line for the family and then closed-up the gate around the dirt lot.

The wake is over but there won't ever be a burial—at least not the kind Jeff Bush's family wanted.

"To Jeffrey Bush, Rest In Peace," said Kloiber.