LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The community is mourning the loss of two men killed in a head-on crash on Taylorsville Lake Road in southeast Jefferson County Tuesday afternoon.
The Jefferson County Coroner identified the victims as 48-year-old James Via of Shepherdsville and 30-year-old Levi Grant, 30, of Taylorsville. Both died from blunt force injuries at the scene.
Via's wife was one of the first people to arrive at the scene of the horrific crash, and she told WDRB her husband was a beloved Shepherdsville musician.
"I called another friend of mine and I said, 'I'm worried. Jamie has been in an accident,' and I said 'I'm right I'm just driving down the street ... I'm on my way there."
Pictured: Police and first responders on the scene of a crash that killed two people on Dec. 5, 2023, on Taylorsville Lake Road in southeast Jefferson County. (WDRB image)
Melody said Jamie was on his way to meet her when he collided with the vehicle driven by Grant on Taylorsville Lake Road.
"And I saw the truck, and I said to my friend ... 'I have to go, it's bad," Melody said.
Jamie's truck was crushed in the crash.
"Obviously I was devastated and distraught, and probably in a little bit of shock," she said.
But things got real when she had to tell their loved ones that Jamie was gone.
"Having to tell my mom and Johnny -- especially Johnny -- that his baby brother was gone was probably the worst thing I've ever had to do in my life. But it had to be done."
It's not the first time Melody had to consider what life would be like without her husband. Jamie had a kidney transplant about seven years ago, and he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2021. More bad news came this past April when four blockages in his heart forced open heart surgery.
"Jamie just had the strongest will to live of anybody that I've ever known," Melody said. "He just wanted to live life."
Pictured: this undated photo provided by family members shows James (Jamie) Via playing in the Junction Creek Band. Via died in a head-on crash in rural Jefferson County in the afternoon hours of Dec. 5, 2023. (Family Photo)
Throughout his ordeals, Jamie continued to work and continued to play in his country music band, Junction Creek.
"He made sure that he made it to every show," Melody said. And Jamie used that platform to help educate people about organ donation.
"People have messaged me and said, 'I'm an organ donor only because of Jamie,'" Melody said.
It's a message she intends to carry on.
"Any loss of Jamie would have been tragic -- but this tragic -- I never envisioned."
Melody takes comfort in knowing that Jamie's death wasn't agonizing.
"I wouldn't have chosen it but he didn't suffer," she said.
She now knows Jamie is singing to her from Heaven.
"We have really fought the battle of life together hand in hand."
Related Stories:
- Coroner identifies 2 men killed in head-on crash Tuesday on Taylorsville Lake Road
- 2 people killed in head-on crash in rural Jefferson County
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