‘Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.’ Holocaust museum
Managing editor
The petite, young woman stood before the teen audience. Her voice was steady, her message clear.
Choices made today may affect others, even strangers.
Kiersten Lundblad Allen of Louisburg, told the attentive listeners her life story and how a drunk driver changed her life and the lives of others — forever.
With wit and a frankness that at times was uncomfortable for listeners, Kiersten gave a chronicle of events while a PowerPoint presentation was shown on a large screen behind her.
Photos of herself and her brother, Mark, who was four years older than she was. Photos of happy times — one of Kiersten, Mark, and their mother on vacation — one year before. Another photo was of Mark coaching Kiersten at a softball game — one week before.
Before what?
On June 18, 1984, there were five people in a vehicle on an Oklahoma highway — Kiersten, Mark, their mother, Karen, and two friends. As the Lundblad vehicle was traveling 30 mph through a construction zone, another driver coming from the opposite direction was traveling 80 mph — and the driver was drunk.
“When my mother saw the car coming at us, she turned the car to try to avoid him,” Kiersten said, but the cars collided.
The photo of the car indicated it nearly was folded in half, longwise.
Kiersten continues her story.
“Everyone died that day except me,” she said.
Kiersten was 9 years old. Her brother was 13. Her mother was 38.
The 30-something-year-old woman feels guilty. If she hadn’t gone with her family and friends that day, maybe they wouldn’t have been on that highway at that particular time, and maybe this whole nightmare would not have happened. After all, she was the one who wanted to go shopping.
Newspaper stories about the accident including obituaries of her mother and brother.
An Oklahoma Highway Patrolman, George Raper, saw the grizzly scene unfold before his eyes. He was checking out a report of an erratic driver in the construction zone. He was the first to arrive on the scene. There was a flash fire, which sometimes occurs in a crash when flammable liquids are jostled about.
All Raper could think about was getting the people out of the burning car. One by one, he removed passengers. He thought he was finished after the fourth person when he saw “something.” There was another flash of fire and he realized there was another person in the car. It was Kiersten. He carried her from the car.
There was another crash on that highway at that same time of day, which kept emergency crews from responding as quickly as desired.
Eventually, Kiersten and another passenger were taken to a hospital. The other three passengers died at the scene. A fourth person died later at a hospital.
Kiersten’s injuries included a severed spinal cord, 350 stitches, three layers deep on her head, and a wound that split across her torso.
She was in a coma for six days and paralyzed for 10.
The road to recovery has been a tough one, filled with pain, surgeries, and more debilitating conditions as she ages.
These days, Kiersten is a wife and mother of three children, ages 13, 10, and 2.
“Spinal cord injuries are tricky,” she said numerous times throughout her 60-minute presentation. “The spinal cord controls the entire body.”
Because of the way her right leg was positioned, pinned, and rehabilitated, it has caused her to be pigeon-toed and to walk with her knees together. As a result of her spinal cord being fused together, she is developing scoliosis in her back. Her spinal cord continues to become more thin, which could eventually leave her paralyzed if it severs.
The drunk driver, David Roy Thomas, survived the horrific crash. He was charged with four counts of first-degree manslaughter. In the first trial, Kiersten said he was given a total of 45 years in prison.
“David Roy Thomas wrote letters. He was angry about the incident, claiming he had done nothing wrong,” Kiersten said.
Five years later, the driver had a chance for a retrial because he was not tested for competency. There was a different jury, a different judge, and even more witnesses for the prosecution.
This time around, he received 25 years for each life he took for a total of 100 years.
“He killed four people. He made poor choices. He gets to sit in his cell the rest of his life, still denying he has done anything wrong,” Kiersten said.
“You make choices that you think only will impact you but your choices can impact others,” she said. “What was the last thing you said to someone you love? Did you have a fight? Did you tell them you love them?”
Kiersten said she was an athlete — doing gymnastics, playing softball. No more. Since the accident, she has no calf muscles in her right leg.
She has had a series of conditions including a spinal cord disease, headaches, and temporary paralysis from falls.
“Spinal cord injuries are a tricky business,” she said again.
Ten years after the crash, Kiersten had a chance to meet her hero, Trooper Raper.
“I wanted to talk to him because he was the only living person there at the accident, besides me,” she said.
Trooper Raper told Kiersten it was like “a bomb went off.” The more Kiersten pushed him for information — what were her family and friend’s last words? Were they in pain? — the more he resisted.
Finally, the man of large stature and integrity confessed.
“I did that to you,” Trooper Raper said, indicating he caused her spinal cord injuries since he moved her at the crash scene.
These days, law enforcement does not attempt to remove injured people from crashes. Medical personnel stabilize patients before moving.
“However,” the retired trooper continued, “I would do it again. If you want to sue me, then sue me.”
“He felt guilty,” Kiersten said. “The last thing I wanted to do was sue him. I wanted to thank him for saving my life.”
Following their initial meeting, Kiersten wanted her father, husband, and children to meet her hero, and she sent an e-mail to Trooper Raper, thanking him again for his selfless act of risking his life to save hers.
She did not receive a response and later was told her hero had died six days after their meeting.
Why does it matter?
“You’re faced with making choices all of the time,” Kiersten told the high school students, “particularly this weekend with prom.”
Teachers, parents, and the police would rather teens call them to be picked up from a party or other situations rather than letting a situation get out of control.
Even though Kiersten’s life was changed forever, she made the decision to make her life matter — and the life of her brother and mother.
“I want people to know that Mark Lunblad existed,” she said. “Make the best choices. They’re yours to make.”
Marion Police Chief Josh Whitwell addressed the students.
“I would rather pick you up (from an undesirable situation) and take you home,” Chief Whitwell said. “I do not want to have to tell any parent that his or her child has been in an accident and is not coming home.”
Why has Kiersten been doing this for the past 19 years? Wouldn’t it be easier just to live her life and not subject herself to these memories by talking about them?
“It’s a part of my healing,” Kiersten said, following her presentation and hugs from audience members. “It doesn’t stir up anything because it never goes away.
“If just one person listens, then it’s worth it to me.”