Vigil for Hibbard family who died in fiery crash two years ago

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ)-Heart felt messages on balloons detail the pain friends and family still feel two years after the dreadful crash that took the lives of a family of five.

Longtime family friend of the Hibbards Ocean Price tells the crowd at a vigil in their honor, “I didn’t have my chance to say goodbye.”

Loved ones of the Hibbard family say they will never be forgotten.

Shaila’s longtime friend Trisha Riester says, “They were there for all of us and we got to be there for them.”

Steven and Shaila Hibbard and their three young children, three-year-old Kylee, four-year-old Alyssa, and seven-year-old James were taken too soon.

Longtime family friend Felicia Denny says, “They touched a lot of lives.”

That fatal night two years ago on US-27 the Hibbards’ station wagon crossed over the center divider line hitting a refuge for women van head-on, killing the entire family and one of the van’s passengers, Angelia Poe.

Minister Rich Conaway says to the crowd, “You gotta cry. You gotta let it out.”

The wounds are still raw for Felicia Denny who like many relive that terrible day all the time.

“It’s rough, it’s extremely rough passing by it. I do pass by it on a daily. I do live here in Nicholasville. It’s kind of hard to avoid that area.”

But loved ones take comfort in the fact that they didn’t go it alone.

Conaway says, “God didn’t leave one of them on earth to suffer on their own. They all went together.”

It’s people like Rich Conaway who didn’t even know the family who continue to show up and lend their support that keep friends and family of the Hibbards going strong through these tough times.

Conaway says, “This is what we are called to do. And you know if people are in need we’re supposed to take care of them. And the whole community has stepped up.”

Shaila Hibbard’s brother Scotty Phillips says, “I want everyone to know that I keep every one of you in my hearts. For being here and show off how we love and support. You’ll never know how much it means to us.”

Supporters sending out a heartfelt goodbye way up in the sky, releasing balloons in the family’s memory.