Fans of comedian Tony Baker have showered him with messages of love and condolences since his 21-year-old son, Cerain Anthony Raekwon Baker, died in a car crash on Tuesday.
The stand-up comic finally broke his silence on Friday to address his son’s death for the first time on social media.
“My Heath Is Absolutely Broken Out Here On The Streets. But You Best Believe I Have STILL Been Crackin Jokes,” Baker said in a message posted to his Instagram page.
In the post’s caption, Baker thanked everyone who has reached out to him following this tragedy.
“Myself and My Family are overwhelmed with the love and care from friends, fans and complete strangers. I FEEL the love. I see the text messages and some of the DM’s and just want you all to know that it’s appreciated,” Baker wrote. “I know i (sic) am not alone and we are blessed to have soo (sic) many people to lean on, cling to and call. I loved that boy sooo (sic) much.”
Cerain Baker was killed in a three-car crash in Burbank, California, as previously reported by theGrio. He was traveling in a silver Volkswagen with three others when they were hit by a gray Kia that was racing with a black Mercedes Benz. Baker and the passengers, Jaiden Kishon Johnson and Natalee Asal Moghaddam, were ejected from the vehicle and were not breathing when police arrived on the scene.
The three were pronounced dead and the driver of the Volkswagen was hospitalized with serious injuries.
“My heart goes out to Jaiden & Natalee’s families as well,” Tony Baker wrote in the Instagram caption.
Baker, 44, gained prominence as a stand-up comic appearing on HBO’s All Def Comedy and NBC’s Last Comic Standing. He became a fan favorite on Russell Simmons‘ YouTube sketch comedy channel, “All Def Digital.” He is falling on his famous sense of humor to cope with the loss of his eldest son.
“For those that were at the Vigil on Wednesday nite, you know that i was howling crying one minute, then crackin jokes the next,” his IG post continued. “Thank You All. And I ‘m soo sorry that yal are sad too.”
In fact, in a later post, Baker humorously corrected people who included typos in their messages of condolence.
“Man We Going Through A LOT Right Now. But I Just Want You Guys To Know That It’s ‘Sorry For Loss’ Not ‘Lost,” he said followed by laughing emojis.
“Man who the hell says this MID child loss?!! Forgive Me Peeps. Why Am I Like This?!!” the caption read.
During an interview with KCBS-TV on Friday, Baker made a funny anecdote about picking Cerain Baker up from school and making trips to the wholesale grocery store.
“I picked him up from school, we hit Costco up [to] get the free samples. You know, we would just hang out, you know, in Burbank all the time,” Tony Baker said. “Free samples was life, man. They could do homework in the furniture section.”
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