It has been 25 years since my dear grade school friend Debbie Marsh lost her son David in a car crash on Mother’s Day, May 13, 1989. He was only 17 years old and it happened between prom and graduation his senior year at Warren Central. He was at a party on Brookville Road when he and two other teens jumped in a car to go get more potato chips. The boy driving has just gotten his license and as he backed out of the driveway that foggy evening, an oncoming driver was distracted with changing a radio station and could not see over a slight hill that there was a car in his lane. They were hit broadside and David was killed instantly. Debbie was at her kitchen sink and heard the crash across the field on Brookville Road.
Debbie called us at 1:30 in the morning to tell us what happened and my husband and I dressed quickly and drove to their house. We were all devastated and in shock. Another good friend Debbie Lane was like David’s second mother and she was there too.
They needed to tell the grandparents on both sides but wanted to wait until morning, so we stayed up with them all night. That was the worst night of my life. I remember unloading the dishwasher with Debbie’s husband Don and just going through the motions — it was all so surreal.
David went to Howe High School when they lived on Michigan Street near Irvington, then moved to East Raymond when David’s little sister was small. They were afraid of the traffic on Michigan Street with a little one. That little girl Drew was only 4 when her big brother was killed and she’s now my 4 year old granddaughter’s (Ladybug) primary babysitter.
David was a wonderful young man and was quite a good artist — I remember he drew Debbie Knox’s house for the Benton House Home Tour that year. He had signed up to go into the Marines right after graduation and had a beautiful girlfriend. He probably would have been married with a couple of kids and maybe even grandkids by now.
Tragically Debbie lost 2 of her older brothers to car crashes in her childhood.
I had lunch with both Debbies last Tuesday, the 13th on the Anniversary and I still can’t talk or write about it without tears.