Collinsville Couple Helps Child Injured In OSU Homecoming Parade

Stillwater comes together Tuesday night, to remember those killed in the deadly OSU homecoming parade crash and honor those who survived.

A community-wide memorial service will begin in an hour at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Oklahoma State University said the memorial service will honor lives lost, lives saved, and the strength of the Stillwater and Cowboy community.

Four people were killed on the morning of October 24th - the youngest victim was 2-year-old Nash Lucas.

Former OSU professor, Dr. Marvin Stone and his wife Bonnie also died, as well as 23-year-old graduate student Nikita Nakal.

More than 50 people were injured when, prosecutors said, Adacia Chambers plowed her car into a crowd watching the homecoming parade, taking out barriers and a police motorcycle before slamming into fans.

News On Six Reporter Tess Maune introduces us to one of Oklahoma's Own who comforted an injured child on that scary morning in Stillwater.

Where a growing memorial now lies, is the spot in Stillwater where Ted and Connie Moody meet their family each fall to watch OSU's homecoming parade.

The meeting place was the same, but, as we know, the parade was not like any other.

“It happened like in three seconds,” Ted Moody said.

“Those images keep coming back in the night and the day of all that you saw and the noises that you heard,” said Connie Moody.

The Moody's were on the front row at Main and Hall of Fame when a car came crashing through the crowd. They didn't see it, they heard it.

Connie said, “Then, all of the sudden, we just hear this loud boom. And look to the left and that's all I remember until I wake up.”

When Connie opened her eyes, a little boy was next to her - scared, confused and hurt.

Special Coverage: OSU Homecoming Tragedy

“And he's screaming, 'Hold me. Hold me. What's that noise? I just need someone,’” she said.

He didn't remember his name, he didn't know his phone number, he didn't know Connie and she didn't know him, but none of that mattered in the moment.

Connie held the little boy just as he'd cried out for her to do.

“He just grabbed me, and he just clung to me and he wouldn't let go. And I just tried to keep him looking in my eyes and to keep concentrating on something else,” Connie said.

By the end of the day, she was able to the visit the little boy in the hospital - 12-year-old Alleyn Campbell.

The crash left him with a concussion - cuts, bruises, a broken leg - and a mother who was thankful for the kindness of strangers.

"I call them heroes and angels, to be there until I could get there," Collett Cambell said.

Connie said, “I just can't get those words out of my mind for him to scream, 'hold me, hold me, hold me,' and I was glad that I could do that until real help came.”

And while Connie and her family walked away from the crash, they did so knowing how precious life should be.

“Hugs and kisses and 'I love yous' are important in life, and we need to remember those to our friends and family on a daily basis. And know that, just in an instant, that boom can come and change our life,” Connie said.