A Go Fund Me account has been set up to help a Devers family bury their son after he was killed in a two-vehicle crash on Dec. 27 in Spring. Two other occupants of his vehicle, as well as the other driver at fault, survived.
At the time of his death, Chad Tidwell, 29, was home in Texas from California after his sister-in-law, Mandy Rollins, 36, of Liberty, was killed in a two-vehicle accident in Rye on Dec. 21. His brother, James Tullous, who survived the first accident, is still fighting for his life in a Houston-area hospital.
“Chad was home for a bereavement visit,” said his sister, Sabrena.
Chad was one of the children of James and Lynette Tidwell of Dayton. He was a 2011 graduate of Liberty High School and worked as a tower climber for a cell phone company. He was engaged to his girlfriend, Brittany Ferguson, and was the father of a 9-year-old daughter, Addisyn, from a previous relationship.
“He was a twin to our sister, Chelsey, and I was a twin to our sister, Ethan. We were two sets of twins born 14 months apart. We also have our brother James and our sister Amber,” said Sabrena. “We are all very close.”
The family was still grappling with Mandy’s loss and James’s injuries when Chad was killed.
“Everyone is taking it very hard. His daughter is taking it especially hard because it’s hard to understand the loss,” Sabrena said. “Chad was a very funny, loving person. He loved Dragon Ball Z and did pixel art movies when he wasn’t busy climbing cell phone towers.”
The tragedy is compounded by the fact that Chad’s life insurance policy, which would have covered his funeral, was set to kick in just days after his death.
“He was just a day or two shy of the probation period ending for his life insurance, so now we are trying to raise money to pay for his funeral,” she said.
The family plans to hold his funeral service at their church in Devers with Sterling Funeral Home in Dayton handling the arrangements.
To make a donation, go online to https://gofund.me/2623e273.