In just a few days Kyrie King will turn four, and although his mother Ashley said at times he recalls snippets of the accident that took his father’s life, only time will tell if Kyrie truly understands why he is called the miracle baby.
In November 2018, Kyrie and his father David were involved in an accident along the Claude Noel Highway. It was a head- on collision which also took the life of another man, Hector Kennedy.
However, Kyrie was found tucked safely in his father’s arms in the mangled wreckage earning him the name “Miracle Baby.”
Kyrie’s mother, Ashley tearfully, recalled when her father broke the news about the accident.
She said, “At the time I was in training to become a fire-fighter and my dad who is also a fire fighter came and told me about the accident but at first he didn’t tell me that David died—he said he was in the hospital—and when he told me about Kyrie well I started to bawl and on my way to the hospital he told me David died.”
She said after hearing that her fiancé had died she began to fear the worst for her son.
“When I got to the hospital the only thing that had happened to him was that his lip was swollen, no other scratch no other bruise, but eventually when I saw pictures of the wreckage I truly understood how that could be nothing short of a miracle,” she also said.
Because of the way things are now, she said images of the horrific accident flooded social media, and persons were shocked and amazed that her son survived unharmed. At the time Ashley said life “was like a blur because as much as I was grateful to God for saving Kyrie, I was still dealing with the loss of his dad.”
She said although Kyrie was not even two years old at the time of the accident, there are moments he recalls what he witnessed.
She added:“One morning he got up and he was saying mummy you know me and daddy were in the car and then daddy hold on to me and then bang and then the police came and we were in the car and I was crying.”
She at first she was unable to come to terms with the loss but she eventually grew to accept it and will often talk with Kyrie about what happened.
“I tell him that his dad died in an accident and now he is in heaven but I think its difficult for him to understand because he knows that he was in the accident as well. Even today he asked me to take him somewhere and I said no everybody has to stay home because of the COVID and he said well I will ask my daddy to take me.”
Ashley, who was able to complete her training is now a fire fighter. She said as her son grows she sees more of his father in him every day.
She said, “As hard as it is to accept, Kyrie replaced David. He looks like him, he acts like him it’s like it’s the same persons. So even if he is gone he is still with me, my only regret is that I would have liked for him to still be here not even for me but to be a father to his children.”
She said the loss has been difficult for her daughter Peyton as well because as the older sibling she spent more time with her dad and they had a close relationship.
She said she is strengthened by the fact that Kyrie’s survival means that she and her children have a purpose to fulfil in life
