O's 2nd cousin J was killed in a car accident last week. I only met him once, at a funeral almost exactly a year ago to the day of his funeral. O hadn't seen him for years before that. J had been pretty wild in his teens and early twenties, but by all accounts, the love and persistance of his wife helped him turn his life around. By the time O met up with him again, J was as nice a person as you'd ever want to know.
J was driving home from working out of state last week, pulling a trailer behind his truck. The trailer hit a patch of ice and started fishtailing. It broke loose and flipped but by that time, J's truck was out of control and it too went off the road and flipped. He was not wearing his seatbelt and was thrown from the vehicle.
The guy driving behind J saw the accident happen and raced to J's side. He knew by the injuries that J would not be saved, so he sat down beside him, gathered J in his arms and prayed with him until he passed, holding his body until the paramedics arrived.
In a strange twist of fate, this man is best friends with J's aunt's cousin (confusing, I know) and was able to contact J's father to tell him what happened, and to let him know that his son was well taken care of in the moments before his death. I cannot imagine what J's parents and wife must be going through. I don't even want to try to imagine. But there must be some small comfort in knowing that this man they loved so very much did not die by himself on the side of the road, but died with someone's arms around him, whispering words of comfort and love.
It's easy in this day and age to become cynical about people, but this tragedy reminded me that there truly are angels walking around on this Earth, and I am so glad that one of them found his way to J when he needed one the most.
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