April marks a tragic anniversary for one Placer County family: Twenty years ago, Kourtney Ketchersid lost her life in a crash involving a drunk driver.
Decades later, Kourtney's family is still processing their grief.
"It's been really difficult," said Lori Ketchersid, Kourtney's mother. "In the beginning, it was most difficult. Just the day-to-day life without her."
Kourtney died just weeks before what would have been her 20th birthday.
Two decades later, standing in the backyard of their Granite Bay home, brother Austin Ketchersid – who was just 10 years old at the time – remembers his sister's big smile and love of animals.
"We just felt we needed something in our backyard just to have here with us always," Austin said. "On the rock there we have the plaque in memory of her, but my favorite part is actually the turtle."
Inside, a trove of photographs; a keepsake of happier times.
"She was the biggest role model I could have. All the memories I have of her are just how amazing she was to others, to us, to her friends," Austin said.
This is how Kourtney's family remembers her.
"My husband and I were out of town, and we got that dreaded phone call in the middle of the night," Lori said.
April 16, 2005. It was at the intersection of East Roseville Parkway and Douglas Boulevard where Kourtney's vehicle was struck by a drunk driver.
The Sierra College student and Granite Bay High School graduate was on her way home from work at the local pizza parlor.
Big sister Kimberly was at home babysitting and heard the sirens down the street; she delivered the news to her parents, who were three hours away.
"You're numb, I don't remember a lot of it. I remember it being the longest drive home ever," Lori said.
A tribute sign is still posted on the traffic signal, reminding the community not to drink and drive.
Lori avoided the intersection for a long time.
"I had some health issues shortly thereafter that were related to it, I went into a coma," Lori said. "And I came back to my family and started to try to live again, and it is a struggle, it's a struggle."
With the struggle comes the what-could-have-beens.
"I picture she'd be married and have a couple of kids," Lori said.
And the milestones Kourtney has missed.
"Weddings, births. She now has two nephews that, of course, she never got to see or meet," Lori said.
The pain doesn't just stop for those directly impacted by her death.
"My son, her nephew, will never meet their Auntie Kourtney," Austin said.
But this faithful family says Kourtney is never far away.
"I wear it frequently," Lori said about wearing Kourtney's necklace. "Take her with us when we go on family vacations."
Just weeks away from what would have been Kourtney's 40th birthday, her family has a message for others.
"Do not get behind the wheel of a car when you've been drinking," Lori said. "Think of others, not just yourself."
The driver who hit and killed Kourtney, Joshua Douglas Bauser, was 20 years old at the time. He was found to be over the legal limit for alcohol and under the influence of marijuana at the time. The Placer County District Attorney's Office reported Bauser was driving more than 80 miles per hour when he hit Kourtney.
In 2006, Bauser was sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and DUI, as part of a plea deal that dropped a second-degree murder charge.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Family remembers Placer County DUI victim Kourtney Ketchersid 20 years after her death )
Also on site :
- Could 100 Men Really Take on One Gorilla and Win? We Asked ChatGPT
- Trump sees no red line that would change tariff policy - The Atlantic
- Pope Tawadros meets with mayor of Polish town