Local community supports family after hit and run crash
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — The story of how a community came to the aid of a family reeling from a life-altering crash is today's Tell Me Good News.
Life can change seemingly in the blink of an eye. For 20-year old Holden Howell and family, this couldn't be closer to the truth.
Nov. 26 is a day that the family will remember forever. It's when a hit-and-run crash nearly claimed Holden's life.
'I was just leaving the skate park. I was on my bike. I decided I was going to kind of take a different route just because it was one of the last days I was going to be able to ride,' says Holden.
'I received a call from his girlfriend that she had been notified by someone on the scene of a motorcycle accident involving Holden,' says Heather Howell-Thomas.
A moment of chaos, that surely felt eternal, unfolded as Holden turned through the intersection at Westridge and Mad River Road and collided with a truck.
'There was like a brief moment where it was just loud noises and getting thrown around, and then I ended up on my back face up,' Holden says.
'We went and see Holden and the neurosurgeon told us pretty much right away with his level of injury that he would never walk again,' Heather says. 'I'm initially and it was kind of difficult, but never say never.'
As Holden's path to recovery began, his mother knew life would be different and that accommodations would need to be made for his sake.
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'I immediately knew that we had to, like, propel into action, that we weren't wheelchair accessible on the main level for Holden to be able to come home. And I didn't know how or what to do,' says Heather. 'My husband made a Facebook post, tagged me in it, and we were just asking for anyone that could come and help us like volunteer time, energy, resources, skill, whatever they could bring to the table.'
The post spread quickly, gaining the attention of people like Kevin Bridgewaters, a local contractor and owner of K.W. Bridgewaters LLC. Bridgewaters says that about four or five people joined forces to help.
'None of it was for any kind of recognition or any kind of purpose,' Bridgewaters says. 'It was just to help. So that's all we wanted to do.'
Time, resources and man power from over 10 local companies, no questions asked. The team worked fast to have everything ready for Holden when he returned home from physical therapy.
'We knew because Holden was in an a rehab facility at the time and they were said that it would be 3 to 6 weeks that he would be there. So we expedited the process as much as we could,' Bridgewaters says.
The renovations would have taken months under usual circumstances, but in this case, the crew finished in 3 weeks.
'I was just thankful that so many people came to us and were willing to offer all of the help that we needed to try to get him in a place where he could do what he needed to do to be independent on a daily basis,' says Heather.
About three months after the crash, Holden is taking things one day at a time.
'Well, I mean, you walk for 20 years and then one day you don't. So it's definitely different. But I'm getting used to it. I mean, it's been roughly about three months, so, I mean, all you can really do is just, you know, take every day, one day at a time. And you just keep getting through. It could be worse.'
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