WARSAW — Steve Conrad read a victim impact statement before the court Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 17. His statement, along with that of his son and daughter-in-law, were read before Kosciusko Superior Court III Judge Joe Sutton sentenced Mickgomery Hisey to 14 years at the Indiana Department of Corrections in the death of Conrad’s wife, Kimberly, and his son, Stephen. Steve Conrad and Brody Jordan were also injured in the accident on Christmas Day, 2016. The following is Steve’s statement.

“On Dec. 25, 2016, my live changed forever. In a matter of seconds I lost half my family. My wife, Kim, and my son, Stephen. I had five broken ribs, a broken knee and my back was broken in three places. My wife was lifeless in the backseat, my son was lying lifeless in my lap. Seeing this, I still didn’t know what had happened, what had hit us. It all happened so fast, but I just knew they were gone.

“My wife, Kim, and I would have celebrated 40 years of marriage last June 11. Kim was retired from teaching and she looked forward to spending as much time as she possibly could with her first and only granddaughter, Kendall. Having grandchildren was one of the best times in her life. Unfortunately, she was only had 5 months with Kendall and will be missing the birth of her second grandbaby in February 2018.

“At just 32, my son, Stephen, was just beginning to live his life. Stephen was fortunate to work in the field that he loved and was a professional golfer by trade. Stephen was one of only two people to have ever won all three professional Indiana golf tournaments and was inducted into the Indiana High School Golf Hall of Fame in 2015. He loved seeing his family at Christmas time every year. His visit at Christmas time was usually only five days because he had to go back to Arizona to work. He didn’t know this Christmas would be the last he would get to see his family. To any parent, the hardest thing to see is your child go before you do.

“After leaving the hospital, my life took a complete 180. After the accident, I had physical therapy for my leg and back, trying to get myself mobile enough to work again realizing how life can change in seconds. Kim and I were planning retirement, possibly visiting my son, Stephen, in Arizona more often. Now, I’m just more or less struggling to pay bills and putting off my own retirement. But I do have two sons, a daughter-in-law, a granddaughter and my wife’s family and my own family to support me and keep me going in the right direction. Also thanks to the support of the community which was overwhelming at Kim and Stephen’s Celebration of Life and the forming of the Kim and Stephen Conrad Scholarship Fund which I believe is around $90,000 at this point. At least something positive came from this horrendous tragedy. Life goes on, and that’s what I’ll do, but I’ll be missing my winter vacation in Arizona with my son, and being together for the Indiana Open Golf Tournament in the some and miss the father-son relationship that Stephen and I cherished every year.

“In going on, I now miss my wife at night and finding out what problem we’re attempting to solve for someone because that’s what she did. If you have a problem, she did her best to fix it. It might be helping someone buy a house, tutoring a student or a girl needing help with cheerleading or gymnastics. Whatever it was, she would be there for them. Kim never ran out of energy to take care of our family, me or anybody else. Always giving up her time and loved every minute of it. Needless to say, she was my rock.

“I pass the accident site on my way to work every day. The only thing that comes to mind is ‘How could this have happened in a 45-mile-per-hour speed zone on Christmas Day?’ That is my question, and I still can’t find the answer. I ask myself, ‘Why would this happen?’ The only explanation everyone gives me is, ‘You have to go on.’ If you’ve never been in this situation, going on is not the easiest thing to do. And as my life goes on, I will follow my wife and son’s determination to be positive and thank God for the years I was allowed to be with them.”