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A sad day, fellow wheeler killer
#1
HERE is the link to the other board with a full thread.

For those of us that ran Judgment Day in January, Kevin was a trail leader in the red buggy.

Here is Lance's post in the AZVJC site:

Kevin(Ski4x4) was killed in an accident this weekend on Sunday night. He was wheeling in southern AZ with a few members and lost control and rolled his rig on the way back to camp. I heard about it yesterday when I got back from my wheeling trip, but waited to get the facts from those who were there with him. A big thanks to Mike(Rufftytuffty) and Chad for doing all they could to help, but it was to no avail. Thanks also to Steve and Ryan for helping with the rig extraction on Monday. Thanks also to Kyle and Andrew for getting in touch with me. Kevin will be missed here, by me and many others, and my thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to his family and other friends.

Here is a message I got on the AZ Undertakers board last night.

Lance,

Unfortunatelly, Kevin's rig rolled off a steep embankment on our last night run in Mammoth Sunday night. He was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from his buggy and crushed multiple times. When Mike and I got to him, we pushed the buggy off his leg and and tried to keep him concious. Mike went to get cell phone reception while I stayed with Kevin. Two hours later a EVAC chopper landed and worked on Kevin for about 45 minutes, most of that getting him up the embankment. Kevin went into cardiac arrest twice during this time but the medics kept working on him on his flight to the Tucson UMC hospital. Doctors could not stop the internal bleeding but did the best they could. Very sad and hard on everyone this weekend.

This was my first time meeting and wheeling with Kevin and I enjoyed the momments I was able to spend with him.

I'll post up more later on the UT board. Sorry you lost a friend. We all have lost a good guy and will all miss Kevin.

Chad

Rest in peace Kevin....

#2
There isn't much I can say that hasn't been said.
RIP...
#3
Indeed. Sorry to hear the details and that a young life was lost.
Glad to see alcohol or inexperience wasn't invloved.
#4
Wow so sorry. My thoughts and prayers will be with his family and friends.
#5
Alan Thanks for posting this.
Sad thing to hear, he and his family will be in our thoughts & prayers
#6
this is such a tragedy. please buckle up everyone!
#7
This makes me really sad for his fam. I will pray for them.
#8
May he rest in piece as he left doing what he loved.....
#9
Below is funeral information for Kevin for those who may be planning on attending:

Kevin's Father, Allen called me today to post this update:

The funeral will be held at the Sinai Mortuary at 11:00 sharp.
4538 N 16th St (Camelback/16th St)
Phone # is (602)248-0030

The funeral will probably last about an hour or so. Then from there everyone is welcome to join the procession to the cemetery. There will be a motorcycle escort down no highway roads (30mph max).
You ARE welcome to drive your jeeps, trail rigs, buggies, etc (must be street legal Im sure), but the family knows that Kevin would have it this way.
Also, no worries about attire. Just be there. If you don't have a suit, that's ok. If you need to wear goggles, that's OK too. Dress is not important here.

Mount Sinai Cemetery
24210 N 68th St
Scottsdale, AZ

Everyone is then welcome to join the family at their home in Scottsdale.
9935 E Island Circle
Scottsdale, AZ 85058

Please do not bring flowers or food. If you feel that you want to make a donation, there is a foundation in Kevin's name available.

Checks may be sent in care of Stephanie and Lisa Rothman
17646 N 47th St
Phoenix, AZ 85032
Made out to "Kevin Rothman Sports Foundation"

ALSO, and VERY IMPORTANT

If you are interested in speaking at the Services, by all means, this is welcome.

ALSO, the family would like to know all who may wish to be a pall bearer. I will be one, and they need 8 (or at least an even number).
Please call me at (623) 341-1462 if you would like to speak or be a pall bearer.

Thank you all for being there and so supportive in this matter. The family is amazed at what a caring community we have here. You really made a difference.

The family will be at the Scottsdale residence for the next week. They would like anyone who wants to come by, visit, and talk about Kevin over the next week (evenings are best). Please feel free to stop by and send your condolences, and share your "Kevin" stories. I know you have some!

Rachel
#10
I just got back from the service. It was amazing and sad all at the same time. I was amazed with the amount of people who came out and drove their rig to be part of the funeral. It was a mix of Jewish tradition and rednecks (true sense of the word and not in a bad way)… The family was kind enough to explain the prayers and then have them said in English so us Gentiles would know what they were talking about and what the meaning was.
It also made me so aware of how blessed I am to know each of you. I thank God everyday that you all are in my life.

I love each and every one of you… even the ones that fart in my truck… :P
#11
I love you too Bob. :)
#12
an update from Kevins family posted over on the VJC



Words cannot begin to express the way we feel towards Kevin's buggy community. Kevin knew we did not approve of this sport because it scared us, and the thought of him just arranging meetings on the internet and going out to the desert to meet strangers was just a concept we could never handle. Kevin always tried to explain to us that these are good people and he was safe out there.

We have been so touched by all the messages we have read all over the internet, including finding quite a few that Kevin himself had also posted previously. We had read his "build" diary but reread it over and over now. How proud he was of his buggy. It gives us much comfort to know his community and his friends that he spent so much time with. To know that you are all good, decent, caring people really helps.

I only knew a few of you personally but what you have done for Kevin is truly unbelievable. When we pulled up at the mortuary and saw the buggies and the banners first came the awe of it all and then the dam broke- the tears wouldn't stop after that. We heard you were hassled by the mortuary guys - so sorry about that. We appreciated seeing you guys where you parked and would have done anything to have you remain right where you were, if we had known!

Rachel, what can we say - you have been so, so very kind to us. You were more than a roommate to Kevin. To listen to the nightmare that you went through to bring his buggy and truck back home - how many people would do that for someone? I guess only this group of friends. To get volunteers to fix his wiring on his buggy - just thanks for the offers, we truly appreciate that.

Chad and Mike - we know that what you went through with Kevin will probably affect you the rest of your lives. Thank you for helping our son.

Chad we so appreciate the time and effort you put into writing your weekend experiences with Kevin. I have only read so far the good times you had that weekend and someday I might be able to go further.

Navigator and everyone else helping with the pictures - these have so much helped us. We get online daily and look for new pictures and to send us the video - wow- we are playing it non-stop in our home. As people come to visit it is set-up near the front door so people can see Kevin and what he loved to do.

To the guys that felt it was important to get his vehicle out of the ravine - thanks for doing that- how difficult that must have been.

Please go ahead and post this note on all the different online chat rooms out there. We want everyone to see what a special community this is. We may not be aware of all the sites - so please make sure this is spread around.

My final thoughts are: please, please, please -- when you go out there just remember that you have families, wives, husbands, children back home-- please be careful!! No other family should ever have to go through what we are going through right now.

With much love and appreciation to all of you,
Reba and Allen Rothman (parents) Lisa and Stephanie (sisters)
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