Family Seeks Help In Burying Ice Storm Crash Victim In Kenya

A community pulls together for the family of an Oklahoma man killed during last week's ice storm. Gideon Njuguna Gachohi, 45, died along Interstate 40 near Weatherford.

“It's tough, it's still very fresh,” said Jane Njuguna, Gachohi’s widow.

Njuguna and her two children, 12-year-old David and 10-year-old Naomi, suffered an unexpected loss.

“He loved his children in a special way,” she said.

Gachohi was a husband and father, but also a skilled mechanic and owner of a small trucking business.

“He told me he was loaded and heading off and that was the last that I talked to him,” she said.

During an ice storm on Jan. 14, he set out for Ohio on I-40 to make a delivery. However, he hit trouble near Weatherford when he was involved in a four-vehicle crash. He died at the scene.

1/14/2017 Related Story: One Dead In Semi Wreck On I-40 Near Weatherford

“It was pretty much unexpected,” Njuguna said. “He was a good loving father and always happy and a really intelligent man, hardworking, he was a hard worker.”

The family attends Zion's Hill International Church in southwest Oklahoma City. Pastor Dale Brubaker has known the family for 10 years.

“They're just a good family,” Brubaker said. “Gideon was a wonderful man with a big heart. He was always willing to help someone.”

Now, the family needs help. The Kenyan community is collecting money to send his body home to Kenya for burial and to help his family stay in Oklahoma.

“This is the only home my kids know,” Njuguna said. “I want them to get the opportunities that this great nation has. I want them to explore life. They have big plans for themselves, each one of them.”

David wants to be an NASA engineer one day and Naomi wants to become a writer.

“I do know that she's a hard worker and she's wise and nothing that she's given will be wasted or used wrongly,” said Brubaker.

“I know it's going to be a challenge, money wise, being the mom and the dad and playing both roles for them,” said Njuguna. “I'm just praying and trusting that I will help their dreams come true.”

The family is leaving Thursday to take Gachohi’s body home to Kenya. If you would like to help the family, click here.