Pittsburgh-area man killed in Parkway East crash remembered as family man who loved to bake
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A family in Plum is grieving after a tragedy on the Parkway East last weekend.
Ron Richards died when his SUV went off the Parkway East and traveled down a steep embankment. Now, his widow hopes the community can keep his memory alive.
Richards might have only lived to the age of 50, but his impact speaks for itself.
"He loved his kids," his widow, Becky Richards, said. "He did everything for his kids."
Becky Richards married her husband straight out of high school and never looked back. She's still consumed with grief after losing him so quickly.
"He just went into full-blown cardiac arrest and he wasn't driving so fast, which thank God no one else got hurt," she said.
Ron Richards will be remembered for his baking skills. He churned out delicious lady locks and managed the bakery at a Plum Shop 'n Save. And no one could deny his generous heart.
"This past Saturday, he was riding around on the back of a fire truck dressed up as Santa Claus waving at the kids, throwing candy canes and coloring books," Becky Richards said. "That was him. He was a fun guy."
Now his family tries to make sense of what they believe to be a medical emergency that sent him off the road, over the guard rail and down an embankment.
Becky Richards said she finally got the phone call she needed: The person who saw it all happen and tried to save him.
"The guy was very nice. And he said I'm very agile and this and that. And he said I ran and I jumped, he said, and I was trying to get down the hill, and he said I just knew I couldn't safely get down there," she said.
Now, the community is wrapping its arms around the grieving family. The non-profit organization Angels In DaSkys is collecting presents for Richards' two teenagers. They're also collecting gift cards for the family to cover expenses.
"We were paycheck-to-paycheck kind of people," Becky Richards said. "We waited to the last minute to buy the Christmas presents, because he would usually have a Christmas bonus, we would just take one day and blow it all out, and Christmas was done. We didn't get to that paycheck."
To learn more about how to help the family, click here.
Becky Richards said it makes her feel better to know her husband touched so many people's lives. No matter where you look in the community, she said his presence was and always will be there.
