By Danielle Ellis
At 4:35 a.m. on Saturday, October 10th, nearly 2400 runners were more than 17 hours into the Las Vegas Ragnar Relay race. The course was 171 miles, run by 12-person teams, each running 3 different legs. At any given point in the race, one member of the team is running, so that during the course of the 24-hour race, other team members can be resting, sleeping, or driving to their next leg.

And so it was that Jeremy Kunz and Brendan Parry were standing on the side of Horizon Ridge Parkway, between Stephanie and Gibson, in Henderson, waiting for their teammate Chris Parry to run by so they could hand him water. In the dark of the night, a car, driven by a drunk driver, lost control, veered onto the shoulder, and hit Jeremy Kunz, killing him instantly.

Brendan was standing about fifty feet from Jeremy, and described his memories of the accident: “I went from seeing the car to being on the ground, to hearing Jer being hit, and I knew instantly that he was gone, to running towards him.”

The police report described Brendan jumping out of the way of the car, but Brendan said, “The weird thing was that I jumped into the road, which didn’t make sense. But it happened so quickly, it wasn’t a conscious thought to jump. The thought came and then I was there.”

In a strange coincidence, all three of these men were members of the LDS Church. Jeremy Kunz was a native of Logan, Utah, married to his wife Melinda in the Idaho Falls Temple. He had served a mission in the Canada Toronto West Mission. He was a father of three young children and the Stake Young Men’s President. He was 33 years old. Those who knew him loved him for his interest in others, his love for serving and the joy he found in life.

Brendan Parry, a Las Vegas native whose parents still live here, is a student at the University of Utah. And the man who was driving the car was also a member of the Church, although he and his family are inactive.

This brings Word of Wisdom truths into stark light, illustrating the tragedy that can follow when its counsel is disobeyed.

But Brendan has also learned lessons that will help him go forward with his life.
“Overall the fact that I’m still here has given me a greater purpose in my life. It’s kind of taught me a real lesson on how crucial every second of our lives is.” He added soberly, “I know that Heavenly Father was involved with the experience.”

“Jer was a great man. We can all admire and live our lives by the way he lived his life.” He continued, “The Gospel gives us an opportunity to move on from situations like this. God has a purpose even though we may not understand it. Heavenly Father is in control. It’s up to us second by second to live our lives the way we should. I’ve never felt [so little] in control of my life as that moment. You never know when your last second really is.”

Wise counsel indeed, especially considering it is the same message that prophets ancient and modern give their people: choose you this day to repent and serve the Lord.