My name is Stan Reeves. I am the father of Chris Reeves who was killed the morning of May 6, 1989, by a drunk driver.
At the time of the accident, I was a police officer. I was the first person to drive up on the scene of a horrendous traffic accident. I saw what was left of a Ford F-250 truck(larger than just a regular sized pickup truck). Pieces of this truck were everywhere, smoke and steam coming from where the engine used to be.
I shined my flashlight down the roadway and saw another vehicle, also all in pieces, crumbled, almost beyond distinction of the type or make of vehicle it was. I walked towards it and suddenly realized that it was Chris' truck (a Chevy S-10). I got to the door,looked in and saw my son Chris...bleeding from a cut on his head and large wound to his left chest.
I called my Headquarters on my two-way radio, told them of the accident and that my son was injured and that I needed help and EMS. By now other people were driving up on the scene -- a cab driver helped me tear open the driver's door so I could get to Chris. I eased his head back against the headrest, undid his seatbelt, and tried to apply pressure to the hole wound in his chest. It seemed like hours before EMS arrived...it was only 4 minutes.
We got Chris out of the truck, onto a backboard. EMS began putting "Shock Trousers" on him to pump blood up into his torso from his lower body area. That's when it was discovered that Chris's chest wound went all the way through, and out his back. A 2x4 from the F250 truck came off at time of impact and went through the windshield of Chris'truck,and struck Chris on the left chest area. We began to load Chris into the EMS vehicle and I heard a spine-tingling gasp come from Chris. I knew then he was gone..but didn't want to believe it.
I left the scene, looking as if I had been in an accident myself,due to the blood that was on my uniform. I went to my house, got Chris's mother Beth, and my oldest son Troy..told them that Chris had been in an accident but I didn't tell them how bad he was hurt. We went to North Trident hospital Emergency Room, were met by a nurse and escorted into a small waiting room. Within moments a doctor and another nurse came in and told us Chris was dead. He had bled to death -- that 2x4 that struck him had gone through his chest, and tore 3-4 inches of his aorta artery (main artery to the heart).
I could go on and on...telling you about how it is to buy a suit for an 18-year old young man to be buried in, or making funeral arrangements: casket, grave site etc. I could tell you about all the people who came to his funeral. His entire school (Stall High School) seemed to be there. I could tell you so much about Chris as a person, but there isn't enough room for that.
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