LEX18.com - Lexington, KY

Posted: Dec 9, 2009 10:40 PM
Updated: Dec 10, 2009 9:07 AM

17-year-old Kaitlyn Griffin and her unborn child were killed as the limb came crashing down on top of them. The baby was delivered via c-section, but died soon after. Griffin's 15-year-old cousin survived the blow and lived to tell the story.

15-year-old Josh Thacker was released from Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital Wednesday night. Moments after his release, bandaged and heartbroken, he shared the story of the accident that ended his cousin's life, and nearly killed him as well.

His injuries are painful, but what hurts more are the memories of what happened early Wednesday afternoon. Out of nowhere, a gust of wind broke a tree limb and sent it crashing down on Thacker, his 17-year-old pregnant cousin Kaitlyn Griffin, and her mother.

"I saw it crack and I started running back and forth didn't know what to do, didn't know where to go," Thacker said.

He was helping his cousin and aunt move into an apartment nearby.

"I got a box from her cause she's pregnant," Thacker said. "It was a real heavy box and I grabbed it and the tree came falling. And about that time it just knocked me down and knocked her down and I saw blood and I ran to the neighbors to call the cops," Thacker said.

Hours later, in his hospital bed, he got the news he feared the most.

"I thought she was dead as soon as I saw it," he said.

There's no way for Thacker to reason through the tragedy, so he says he'll rely on memories of happier times to get him through.

"I'll just think about when we were younger and playing in mud and sliding and stuff," he said.

Kaitlyn's mother dodged the limb. She said that just yesterday, her daughter finished the requirements for her high school diploma from Pulaski Central Alternative School. Her mother says Kaitlyn was looking forward to the birth of her son in three months. She says Kaitlyn had plans to go to Somerset Community and Technical College in the fall to pursue an early childhood degree.

Tomorrow, grief counselors will be on hand at Pulaski Central. Griffin is the second student from the school to have died this week. Investigators say 16-year-old Bailey Haynes was killed Sunday night when the car she was driving crossed the center line and slammed into a pick-up truck.