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Eric Mathew Kuhn, of Winchester, was a passenger in a Ford F-150 that blew a red light and struck a car stopped at the light around 11:15 p.m. April 29, at the intersection of Old Bridge Drive and Colby Drive in Woodbridge, Prince William County police said.
The Ford continued off of the roadway before striking a light pole and coming to rest. The driver of the Ford fled prior to police arriving at the scene.
His passenger, Kuhn, a member of the Prince William Marina Team was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, and died on May 19, police said.
A GoFundMe launched for Kuhn's family had raised more than $35,000 as of Tuesday, May 23. According to the campaign, had Kuhn lived, he would've been a quadriplegic.
"For almost 3 weeks, Eric has put up his best fight for a body that was failing him. The injury itself was a complete sever of the C5 vertebrae. Whatever feeling or movement he had lost, would be forever," the campaign says.
"Medically, they had classified him as a quadriplegic, though he still had limited movement of his right arm and shoulders. He had zero feeling or movement from breast bone down. His diaphragm was mostly paralyzed which means he hasn’t been able to breath on his own without the ventilator. His mind has been there the whole time, which has made this process so much harder as he was still communicating as best as he could."
He died on May 19 surrounded by family.
Kuhn was being remembered as a "fun, outgoing and kind soul" who was rarely seen without a smile.
Investigators are actively seeking to confirm the identity of the driver of the Ford truck. Investigators with the Crash Investigation Unit are asking anyone who may have witnessed this crash to contact police. The investigation continues.
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