Fallen Hero

On April 22nd, our local community was severely shook up when the news hit that a member of the Eugene Police Department was fatally shot when attempting to pull over a vehicle. He was driving a motorcycle, and when he caught up with the speeding motorist at a traffic light, the driver of the speeding vehicle, a woman, pulled out a gun and shot him dead.

His name was Chris Kilcullen and his life has obviously impacted thousands of people, as evidenced by the way Springfield and Eugene virtually stopped in its tracks yesterday around noon to honor him in a motorcade along the highway that connects our two cities. He was memorialized at the UO's new Matt Court, and based on the picture below, you can see the vast amount of people in attendance.

I was actually a key witness to the motorcade as I was driving in the opposite direction on that highway - in order to give one of the teachers at Yolanda Elementary the opportunity to participate in the memorial by subbing in her classroom for the afternoon. Come to find out, that Chris' daughter, shown below holding the folded flag, is a student in the class I've substituted in most at Yolanda. Her name is Sydney and my heart goes out to her - along with everyone else.

His life was cut short with such senselessness, but yet in remembrance of this fallen hero, hope rises - recognizing the unity of our communities to honor such a man.



(All photos courtesy of the Eugene Register Guard)