Source: The Falmouth Outlook
By Debbie Dennie, Editor
A twenty-four year old Pendleton County man died from injuries he received in a three-vehicle accident near Ivor Road on the AA Highway in Campbell County at approximately 7:05 a.m. Tuesday, July 21.
Stephen D. Elrod of Foster was taken by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he died later that evening. The heavy fog prevented AirCare from flying to the scene. He was on his way to work at Griffin Industries in Cold Spring when the accident occurred.
A tractor trailor was pulling onto the AA Highway from Ivor Road, heading southbound, when two pickup trucks heading northbound struck the trailer, becoming wedged beneath the trailer. The dense fog, which was blamed for the accident, made it impossible for the two pickup drivers to see the truck or its trailer until it was too late. Elrod was operating an S-10 truck from which he had to be extracted. The identity of the other pickup truck and tractor trailer drivers are not known. Neither of them were injured. Campbell County police worked the accident.
Police had the highway shut down until 10:30 a.m. that morning. Pendleton County Sheriff Craig Peoples, Chief Deputy Paul Vater and Deputy Todd Dennie responded to the AA to assist the Campbell County police by providing traffic control.
Elrod was a 2003 graduate of Pendleton County High School, with valedictorian honors, a graduate of Georgetown College with a business and finance degree and cum laude honors. He was pursuing his masters at Northern Kentucky University, where he was only five classes away from completion.
Stephen was the son of Rick and Judy Elrod of Foster and like his father excelled at basketball playing all four years of high school and went on to play in the jv and varsity basketball program at Georgetown College. He also loved to hunt deer and turkey and enjoyed helping his grandfather cut wood.
"He was an awesome guy with a huge heart," commented his aunt Phyllis Kelsch. "Stephen loved life and his family."
During his funeral at Plum Creek Christian, where he was a member, saturday, July 25, his pastor Bro. Rodney Raymond told those in attendance that he was amazed at the many wonderful comments about Stephen posted by his friends on Facebook. "There wasn't a dry eye in the house as his pastor read those comments," said his aunt.
She went on to say that he always had time to talk all the way from an early age until now and enjoyed talking to older people. He loved to play softball and especially church league. Stephen gave of his time to coach a second and third grade team in basketball, which he really enjoyed. He always had a smile on his face.
"Stephen was over to our house a lot. "He was like another son to us," offered Kelsch. "He was not only a scholar, he was the type of young man that you would want your daughter to marry."
Amanda Bruin, a friend and fellow classmate at Georgetown College added, "Stephen had a really big heart. He was a wonderful person whether it be at school, home or with his friends having fun. He was loved by everybody."
Amanda is going to Honduras to teach and Stephen volunteered to put on a 3 on 3 basketball tournament for her to help her raise money to go. "He was just that kind of guy," she said with a quiver in her voice.
"God must have had a special purpose for Stephen," said his dear grandmother Beulah Elrod.
Because Stephen was an organ donor a part of him will enable someone else to go on living. That's just the kind of young man Stephen was.
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