A heartbroken bride was captured wearing her wedding dress to go and visit the grave of her fiance on the day they were supposed to tie the knot. The pictures show Jessica Padgett kneeling in front of the headstone of Kendall James Murphy on September 29. Murphy had been a firefighter in Montgomery, Indiana.
He was killed in a tragic incident in November last year when his colleague, Colby Blake, crashed his vehicle into three cars as they were responding to an emergency call. Blake, who is from Cannelburg, had not been injured in the incident but was alleged to have had a blood alcohol level of .21%, which is more than double the legal limit of just .08. In honor of her fallen fiance, Jessica posed for a series of images with his boots, his tombstone, his firefighting gear, and with their loved ones.
The breathtaking images were taken by Loving Life Photography and have since been shared on Facebook. The photos have all been shared now more than 21,000 times by users online. In one gut-wrenching image, Jessica can be seen holding her fallen fiance's boots with an image of him photoshopped in the image to stand right next to her.
The photographer wrote in the caption of the image: "She made broken look beautiful and strong look invincible. She walked with the Universe on her shoulders and made it look like a pair of wings." The maid of honor and the best man both took turns giving speeches before both families were captured lighting paper sky lanterns above his gravesite.
Murphy, Blake, and one more firefighter had been responding to a crash site along with deputies from the Daviess County Sheriff's Department on the tragic night that Murphy was killed. The fire department got a call about a driver in the crash site who was stuck inside his vehicle and had to be rescued.
While the firefighters were responding to the scene of the crash, Black crashed into the back of another truck with his own and kept going striking another vehicle in the process. Murphy was already at the scene after having gotten there in his personal vehicle. He had exited his car and opened the rear passenger door on the left to try and take out his protective clothing when he was hit by Blake's truck. The 27-year-old groom-to-be died at the scene.
Blake was subsequently arrested and charged with causing death when operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of .15 or more. The case has still not been set for a trial.
The National Fallen Firefighters Association said that Murphy had been a "selfless man of God who loved spending time with family and friends". They also added: "He had a true servant’s heart and captivating personality that would light up any room. His wittiness would make anyone laugh and have him making friends in no time. He didn’t know a stranger."
The families of Murphy and Jessica both attended the National Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland, so that they could honor their fallen firefighter on October 7. In a post on Facebook, Jessica wrote: "What an emotional, amazing weekend this was! This foundation not only honored my Kendall but also took us in as a family. This wasn’t what we wanted in the end, but at least we know we will never be alone, we have all become one big supporting family [sic]. You will forever be in our hearts #616."
Murphy is reported to have been with the Montgomery Volunteer Fire Department since June 2016. It is said that he had been "following his father and grandfather's footsteps" when he joined the department.