Stephen's amazing friends

If I could send you each a thank you card, I would. I can't begin to express how thankful I am for all of you. Your support, words of encouragement, offers of help, and kind words about Stephen have made this entire ordeal manageable. I don't really know how we'd get through if we didn't have all of you. It's so nice to know that Stephen was so loved.

My mom and I were talking about this today. I never knew of anyone who met Stephen and didn't like him. People were just automatically drawn to him. He was infectious. You could not help but love him. I don't even know of any fights he was ever in. It's like everyone he met instantly became his friend. It's so nice to be able to say that about him. It makes me so proud to be his sister and it's such a testament to the way he was raised. My parents can be assured that they had one hell of a son.

Stephen touched so many people. And I am happy to have met a lot of you at the service. Like I said there, if you were friends of Stephen's, you must be spectacular people.

Thanks so much for being there for us in this difficult time. We miss him so much, as I'm sure you all do too.

Please tell others about his memorial site. We really want to educate people about the effects of under-age drunk driving, especially the effects it has on the family of the victims. Please pass it along to all the people in your address book and post a bulletin.

His website is www.geocities.com/lcmom01/stephen.html.

And don't forget to sign the guestbook.

Please if you're going to drink, please have a designated driver, or take a cab. Please don't put anyone else through this pain.

Nicole and Family

3 Motorcyclists killed in 4 days in SC

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- For the third time in four days, a motorcyclist has been killed in a wreck.

The most recent fatal wreck happened on Pelham Road at about 1 a.m. Monday.

A passerby found the motorcyclist lying in the road. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.

The victim has been identified as 24-year-old Patrick O'Connell of Tigerville. Greenville County Chief Deputy Coroner Mike Ellis said O'Connell was not wearing a helmet. He hit a curb and fell off the bike. He died of head injuries.

Over the weekend, another motorcyclist was killed on Piedmont Highway when he was struck by two cars.

And last week, a Brevard man [STEPHEN] who was riding north on Geer Highway was killed when a vehicle pulled into his path. He was wearing a helmet, but it wasn't enough to save his life. There is no helmet law in South Carolina.

Willi Johnk, the GM of Power Sports of Greenville more and more motorcycle riders are on the roads these days and that the other drivers should be more mindful of them.

Johnk said, "I've seen them read papers, drinking coffee, tlking on the cell phone. Everyone's always talking on the cell phone. It diverts their attention."

He said naturally, it's much harder to see a motorcycle because of its small size, and the speed can be somewhat deceiving.

He said one of the way bikers are making themselves more visible on the roads is with bright colors -- experts say red and yellow are best.

Johnk said he tells all motorcycle riders to always be on the defense, plan ahead and never assume.

He said, "Another thing that motorcycle riders need to do is stay to the left of the lane so that drivers can look in the rear view mirror and see us behind them."

And motorists should check -- and double check -- to make sure that a bike is not in a blind spot.

Copyright 2007 by WYFF4.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Next Step

If anyone wants to know what we're doing with Stephen's body...


Stephen will be cremated today. His friends Casey, Corey and Clayton are going to spread his ashes in their favorite places. Places Stephen would want to be forever. It is the hardest thing to leave him behind. But we'll make it. We have too.

Funeral Service Info

Stephen's service, his Celebration of Life, will be at 3:00pm today (Sunday) at Moody-Connolly Funeral Home in Brevard, NC. It's on Caldwell Street.

Everyone is welcome.

Stephen's Death: What happened

It's Nicole, Stephen's sister. I'll be maintaining his page because  just don't think we should stop sending him messages and talking about him since he can't be here with us anymore. I want anyone to come here and say what they want him to know. It can be a place of healing and bonding. Stephen was so loved and it's so apparent on his page.

Now onto the reason I wrote this bulletin:

Make sure you want to read this before you scroll down...It has pretty graphic details, but I'm going to just say it all so I don't have to tell it 100 times at the service...the papers don't tell you everything. Mom and I have SEEN Stephen. We have read the reports, spoken to the coroner, spoken with the lead investigator. We have the details and I am just going to be frank and put it all out there. No offense meant, but if you don't want to know, then just don't read it. I'm putting this here for anyone who NEEDS or wants to know.

So here goes...

 

 

On Thursday, September 6, 2007 Stephen reconnected with a friend from 8th grade who was his best friend in Largo, FL. He was heartbroken when she moved away. She found him on myspace and they made plans to reunite. She now lives in Greenville, SC. He went over and spent the day with her, talking, reminiscing, laughing, dining. About 11:30, Stephen left to go home in Brevard and planned to return to Greenville on the next night to spend time with her again.

I originally gave y'all the wrong highway number. It was HWY 276. He was travelling on 276 to head back to Brevard and the road became a 2-lane road. There is a neighborhood there and a road that leads out of the neighborhood and intersects with 276. A 20-year-old girl, who is a college student and lifeguard, was intoxicated and pulled her Jeep out into the road right in front of his motorcycle. He smashed into her driver door, and the impact was so great that he broker her window and caved in the entire door about a foot inward. His throat hit the roof of the car and he was essentially "clothes-lined". It instantly snapped his trachea/windpipe and broke his spinal cord, severing communication from his brain to his heart and lungs. He had collapsed lungs, a broken arm, a broken windpipe and neck, among other injuries, but he died instantly, so he felt no pain.

The girl was arrested, surrendured blood and urine samples and we are awaiting tox results to see if she was over the legal limit of .08. Right now she is in jail and being charged with Felony DUI, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years. But it could be 6 months. It all depends. There will be a trial, it will probably drag on for a long time. it probably may not even begin for at least a year. But we will be here.

We saw Stephen's body. He loked so peaceful. He had his eyes slightly open and he HAD A SMILE ON HIS FACE. He looked like he was just laying there watching TV or something. He just didn't look dead. We got to hug him and kiss him and tell him we love him. My mom, of course, begged him to wake up. We said goodbye.

We have an appointment with the funeral home at 2:00 today. We'll be holding a service for him on Sunday. We'll let you know the exact time. It won't be a funeral though. It's going to be a celebration of his life.