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“It destroyed our family;” Vigil held for married victims of alleged drunk driving crash

Posted at 10:41 PM, Oct 04, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-04 23:02:06-04

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. -- Dozens of family and friends came together to memorialize a married couple who were killed in a crash last week.

Keith and Debbie Hendryx were turning onto Columbia Drive from Riverside late last week when an SUV hit them. Debbie died at the scene of the crash. Keith was flown to the hospital but died a few days later.

"It destroyed our family, it destroyed Debbie's family," said James Osborne, Keith's younger brother. "It's not fair, it's just not fair by any means at all."

"The way I explain it to my kids is that they're with their grandpa now. They're with each other, they're not living without each other."

Police suspect the driver who hit them - a 32-year-old woman - was drunk during the crash. She wasn't hurt, but she was arrested that night. The Calhoun County Prosecutor's Office is waiting for toxicology results and accident reconstruction reports before issuing any charges.

The couple were married for 18 years and had three children. They were known to the Battle Creek community through their photography business, Hendryx Photography,

"He and Debbie were both too young and they both had a life ahead of them," Osborne said.

A GoFundMepage was set up to help the family. Their funeral will be Friday Craig K. Kempf Family Funeral Homes in Marshall.