By Catherine Mihelic
There is an endless list of people who have lost a family member or friend in a drinking and driving accident. Currently, a Waynesburg, Pa. family, the Machesky’s are waiting to see if they’ll be added to that list.
Dangerous Decisions
On Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 12:45 a.m., Kathryn Machesky and four of her friends were returning to Morgantown after a weekend trip to Deep Creek, Md. The driver, Blake Keeley, lost control while driving around a curve. The Mercedes SUV careened over a guardrail and down a small embankment. The vehicle rolled and landed on its roof on the edge of a pond.
Keeley and a passenger, Derek Oaerfield, were killed instantly. Two other passengers, Jason Rief and Erin Clipper, walked away from the accident with minor cuts and bruises. However, the fifth passenger, Machesky, was trapped in the car. Upon investigation, Keeley’s blood alcohol content was found to be twice the state’s legal limit.
Machesky was trapped upside-down in the vehicle for approximately 12 minutes before a fire and rescue team was able to extricate her body. She had been partially submerged in the cold pond water the entire time.
Machesky was pronounced dead on arrival, but the paramedics were able to resuscitate her. They transported her to Garrett County Memorial Hospital, and then life-flight flew her to Ruby Memorial Hospital. Twice during her transport to Ruby, Machesky’s heart stopped beating, but both times the emergency crew was able to revive her.
Before the Accident
Before this accident, Machesky, 23, was a tall, deeply tanned, brown-eyed beauty. She had the ability to turn even the newest of strangers into friends. At Cheddar’s Casual Café in Morgantown, W.Va., where Machesky worked, she made numerous friends with employees and customers alike.
Her work ethic was unparalleled by most college students; she worked double shifts as a server as often as possible so she could pay off her student loans. Also, she had just saved herself from an abusive relationship and was working on improving her self-esteem.
Machesky was known for her contagious laugh and optimism.
“She always had a smile for everyone,” said Aaron Banks, a manager at Cheddar’s.
Not Knowing is the Hardest Part
Now, more than two weeks after her accident, it is uncertain whether or not Machesky will survive. During her time at Ruby, Machesky has been listed in critical condition and has been staying in the Intensive Care Unit. She was hypothermic upon her rescue, and doctors have been unable to bring her temperature up to normal because each time they try, she begins having seizures. Machesky is dependent on a ventilator in order to breathe. Her brain is swollen, and since her condition is not stable, doctors are unable to perform surgery to release the pressure. The doctors have kept Machesky in a drug-induced coma to keep her as comfortable as possible.
Throughout this whole ordeal, Machesky’s family has been by her side. Her mother and grandmother have been at the hospital since the first day. At one point, Machesky’s condition was so severe that her extended family was called to come to Ruby to be with her because they planned to turn off the ventilator.
“Watching your daughter fight to live is the hardest thing you can do as a parent,” said Machesky’s mother, Debra. “I would trade places with her if I could.”
“I can’t believe she got in the car with a drunk driver. We’d gone out together a lot, and Kait was always the responsible one that had a ride arranged or would call a cab. I can’t believe she was so careless,” said Machesky’s brother Dylan, 22.
Doctors gave the family little hope about Machesky’s condition. “Even if she stabilizes, it is impossible to say how she’ll recover. She’s sustained massive brain injuries and isn’t showing signs of improvement,” said Dr. Cartwright, Machesky’s doctor in ICU.
“If Kait would have just stayed the night in Maryland, or called someone else to get her, she wouldn’t be here with all these tubes and wires running in and out of her body,” said Evie Cameron, Machesky’s grandmother. “We don’t blame her for this, and we try not to be angry with Blake, but it’s so hard. We just want our Kait back.”
In the ICU waiting room, friends and family members agree that not knowing if Machesky will survive or not is the hardest part.
