A tragedy close to home

Ronni

Ronni

Well-known Member
Location
Nashville TN
My daughter's Paige's good friend lost her 9 year old son Liam in a freak car accident. His spine was severed. He was correctly buckled into an approved car seat, his Dad was driving (a most cautious and protective man) doing a bit less than the speed limit. Legally he was at fault, though the other driver fled the scene and has yet to be apprehended.

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news...dies-injuries-after-weekend-car-crash/496337/

Liam was the oldest of 4 kids, the youngest born a year ago with cerebral palsy. He was sweet, kind, patient, very outspoken and amazingly precocious. Talking to him was like talking to an adult. Paige is having to explain to River, my almost 8 year old grandson, what happened to his friend.

IMG_5843.JPG

Liam is the kid in the back with the red shirt and the blue hair ;)

Liam was kept on life support for a while, until all hope was gone. He was kept alive a bit longer while arrangements were made for organ donation. My daughter put it best, I think:

"Sweet, brilliant, incredible Liam. I knew Liam through a co-op, shared between a handful of moms and our kids, being there for each other and loving each other’s kids as only a village can do. I think anyone who knew Liam knew he had the capacity to be a super hero, and that’s exactly what he is now to other kids who need him. It’s far too soon for those who love him, though, and I know there are hundreds of hearts that he touched in his 9.5 years that are breaking right now. It’s just not fair and I will never, ever understand."
 

According to the follow-up, The boy’s organs have been donated. Someone has also set-up a “Go Fund Me” account to help offset expenses.

If the money is to be used for funeral expenses, I will donate.
If the money is to be used for legal expenses, probably not, until I learn more. I am sure CPD will be doing a competent investigation.

I am sorry for the loss of this young boy’s life.

It will be interesting to learn why the Lexus driver fled.
 

911 said:
According to the follow-up, The boy’s organs have been donated. Someone has also set-up a “Go Fund Me” account to help offset expenses.

If the money is to be used for funeral expenses, I will donate.
If the money is to be used for legal expenses, probably not, until I learn more. I am sure CPD will be doing a competent investigation.

I am sorry for the loss of this young boy’s life.

It will be interesting to learn why the Lexus driver fled.
Click to expand...

How sweet of you to consider donating! I didn’t even realize the go fund me was part of that story and wasn’t intending to
share it here. But as you’ve mentioned it.....From what I understand from Paige, they are going to have to replace their car, cover some medical expenses that their insurance won’t cover, and there are funeral costs that they obviously weren’t anticipating. :( a friend set up the go fund me, apparently they weren’t even aware of it initially.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-ryan-haddock-family

The folks in the Moms co-op group are putting together a Memory Book for the family. As Paige said so eloquently: “I’m glad I have some memories and pictures to share. , I know they aren’t much but in her shoes I imagine I would want to hear every single memory, big or small, that anyone had of my kid since it would be all I had left.”

God. This is so sad.
 
911 said:
According to the follow-up, The boy’s organs have been donated. Someone has also set-up a “Go Fund Me” account to help offset expenses.

If the money is to be used for funeral expenses, I will donate.
If the money is to be used for legal expenses, probably not, until I learn more. I am sure CPD will be doing a competent investigation.

I am sorry for the loss of this young boy’s life.

It will be interesting to learn why the Lexus driver fled.
Click to expand...


Usually when the "innocent" driver flees, it's because he doesn't want to hang around and have a chat with the police. Maybe he's driving on a suspended license, maybe he's over the alcohol limit, perhaps it's a stolen car or a teen out on a "joyride", could be there's a warrant out for his arrest or he has drugs in the car. Even if he's "innocent" in the matter of the accident, he may have other things he's not interested in the police finding out about.
 
Tragic accident, such sad news. May young Liam rest peacefully, my condolences to the family, they must be devastated. :(
 
jujube said:
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Usually when the "innocent" driver flees, it's because he doesn't want to hang around and have a chat with the police. Maybe he's driving on a suspended license, maybe he's over the alcohol limit, perhaps it's a stolen car or a teen out on a "joyride", could be there's a warrant out for his arrest or he has drugs in the car. Even if he's "innocent" in the matter of the accident, he may have other things he's not interested in the police finding out about.
Click to expand...


Back in the early 80’s, I think, I was called to the scene of an accident where a car left the road and went into a home, which was sitting maybe only 20-30 feet from the road. There was a 16 year-old girl sitting on the floor watching TV while her dad sat in a chair. The young girl had just put the baby down for the night, or this could have been worse. Losing one child is horrific, but two, I don’t have the right word for that.

The car went into the living room and killed the girl and severely injured the dad. We had the car, but no driver. We searched the entire area for about 3-4 hours, but no luck. The next day, the driver turned himself in. When I interrogated him and asked him why he ran, his answer was because he was afraid.

After conducting an extensive investigation, we found numerous witnesses that said they saw the driver and his friend drunk and getting into the car. That explained why they ran. To avoid a BA test for substances.

At trial, they had very little help. A few character witnesses and their pastor testified to their being kind and liked by their peers. However, none of that could outweigh our evidence. Both boys were 17 y/o, meaning that they were underage for drinking. They were charged as adults.

They faced 7 total charges. In PA, if you are with the person that committed the crimes, you are just as guilty. Both boys received a total of 8-15 years in state prison. I think they were out in 6 years.

The house, although considered repairable, was later demolished. The lot to this day remains empty with a marker and a plaque telling a short story of what happened and closed by stating, Please do not drink and drive.” The family bought a home in another area.
 
Beyond Tragic!! Not only have these parents lost a child, but they have to live their lives knowing that it was the father who caused the death of their precious boy... beyond most people's comprehension... . Heartbreaking for all concerned.!!
 
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