Family seeks answers, mourns loss of boy, 16

Published 9:00 pm Friday, March 29, 2002

By Cathy Logg

Herald Writer

EVERETT — Kevin Kronberger turned 10 exactly two weeks ago today. He’s unlikely to remember the day as a celebration, but as the day his older brother was struck by a car.

Sixteen-year-old Brian Kronberger died the next day, March 17, at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle without regaining consciousness.

"It’s a nightmare that will never end," Dale Kronberger said of his son’s death. "It’s a parent’s worst nightmare, but you don’t wake up from it."

Kronberger and his wife, Laurie, along with Kevin and his 12-year-old sister, Lindsay, are waiting for the conclusion of an Everett police investigation they hope will give them some answers about Brian’s death.

He and a friend were walking on a sidewalk in the 700 block of Pecks Drive at about 6:30 a.m. when a white van veered off the road and struck Brian from behind, sending him flying about 35 feet. His friend was not hit.

"It’s still under investigation," was all Everett police Sgt. Boyd Bryant would say about the case Friday. Investigators say a 23-year-old Granite Falls man was driving the van. No charges have been filed.

"Everybody loved Brian. He was a great guy. We’re just so lost without him," Dale Kronberger said.

"He wanted to become an electrician like me. That was his dream. He had mentioned a couple of weeks before he died that he wanted to go to college. His biggest dream was to get his driver’s license and a car. He was getting close to getting his permit," he said.

Dale Kronberger had taken Brian to some of his job sites after-hours to show his son what his job entailed.

Brian also liked sports, particularly baseball and basketball. The 10th-grader at Everett Alternative School also had a passion for fishing.

"We’ve got pictures of him from when he was 4 months old in the boat with us," Dale Kronberger said. "Every fish he ever caught I had to fillet for him. I’ve even had to fillet a minnow."

Many of his school friends attended his funeral, and some placed notes in his coffin.

"All who knew him loved Brian," said Mike Pabisz, a friend and neighbor.

Dale Kronberger learned his son had been hurt when police knocked on his door that morning. The family rushed to the hospital, where they learned that Brian was in surgery. Not long after, they learned that he wasn’t going to recover.

"That was the worst moment of all of our lives," Dale Kronberger said.

They stayed with him until hospital staff disconnected Brian’s respirator, and then held him for two hours afterward.

Now, they’re struggling to go on without him. Kevin and Lindsay often cry themselves to sleep, say the Pabiszs, whose daughter is Lindsay’s best friend.

Dale Kronberger has been off work for about two months due to the slow economy. Laurie Kronberger works at a nursing home. He has medical insurance, but it doesn’t cover all of the expenses, and they have to bury Brian.

Friends have set up a benevolent account for donations to help the family pay expenses.

Another friend, Vicki Close, organized a community bake sale to raise money to help the family. It will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 9 in the View Ridge Elementary School basketball area, 202 Alder St.

You can call Herald Writer Cathy Logg at 425-339-3437

or send e-mail to logg@heraldnet.com.