Todd James
Redefined by Tragedy and Trust By Nanc y C awley Zugschwert
“The officer said, ‘We’re sorry to inform you that Matthew and Justin were killed in a crash near Farmington this evening. There was another boy with them; do you know who that would be?’ ‘That would be my son Jacob.’ The officers looked at each other, then back to me and said, ‘Jacob is in surgery. He is in critical condition.’” —Connie Backstrom, backstrombrothers.com (The Story) The lives of the Backstrom family changed dramatically when a car crash claimed the lives of their three older sons in October 2004. The family is pictured here in a 2002 photo (L to R: Matthew, Justin, Ryan, Charles, Nathan, Connie, Jacob).
28
Northwester n Co lle g e
E
ight years ago, on October 10, 2004, Backstrom brothers Matthew, 20, Jacob, 17, and Justin, 16, were killed after the car Matthew was driving was hit head-on by another vehicle. Matthew and Justin died at the scene. Jacob died the next day. The intoxicated driver who hit them was talking on his phone and reaching for a DVD. He survived the crash. The brothers left behind parents, Nathan and Connie, and younger brothers, Ryan, 12, and Charles, 8—a family redefined by the actions of a stranger. Nathan still vividly remembers when he heard about the crash. “When Connie called me with that news, I laid down my phone and said, ‘Dear Jesus help me.’ Four simple words calling on the God of the universe. I’ve used that prayer many times since.” Ryan Backstrom, now 20 and a freshman at Northwestern, recalled, “It took quite awhile to come out of that. I was numb for years.” Not exactly your typical childhood. The Backstrom family’s response to this