One survivor tells story at Survivors Summit

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) – The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office hosted its first ‘Survivors Summit’ on Friday.

An event to honor victims and survivors of all crimes.

One speaker telling her story of losing her husband, who was a police officer in Lexington, 14 years ago.

“Life was really good,” said Brandy Durman Toombs. “Then on April 29, Bryan was dispatched to a very routine call.”

They married each other after dating for just four months. And after six years of marriage and bringing a child into the world, the worst possible thing happened.

Her husband, Bryan, was on a call for a noise complaint and while speaking with a person to turn down the music, a man hit Bryan with his vehicle.

“He held the wheel to the left, accelerated through the crash and never hit his brakes to stop and help.”

After the accident, Toombs learned that the man had been charged with assault on a police officer 9 times, after saying he would kill a cop one day.

The man who killed her husband was charged with second degree manslaughter, which was considered a non violent crime, and served 9 years of a 20-year sentence.

With her husband gone, Toombs made sure that her son got help, before she did. And after finally going to a retreat, much like the Survivors Summit, she began to move forward.

“I went back to school to get my masters in social work, so I could be a therapist for others. I lobbied for new legislation to protect first responders, to make a it a violent crime when you hit someone with a vehicle.”

Toombs says she hopes other survivors get something positive out of hearing other peoples stories.

She says they should never move on, because you never forget, but move forward in their lives.