CHANDLER, AZ — Saturday was just like any other for the Sullivans, who were set to go see their middle child Kyle place a baseball game that evening.
Stacey Sullivan had been wanting to reupholster patio chairs and had found the fabric she wanted at a store in the West Valley.
"I found it out in the West Valley," she told her husband Kevin that day. "Why don't I just go there and get the kids out of the house?"
Sullivan says his wife called around 4 p.m. to say she was stuck in traffic. Sometime shortly after that phone call, Kevin was calling her without a response.
"So I started calling all of the kids, because they all had their phones, they never not answer and it was unusual for her (to not answer her phone)," said Kevin.
He then started driving out west from his home in Chandler, hoping he'd meet up to where Stacey had told him she had gotten backed up by traffic. As he was driving, he started hearing reports of a bad accident on I-10 near 91st Avenue and when he saw the SUV involved, he knew it was his family.
Stacey died in the accident and their three children along with their niece Izzy were all taken in critical condition to Phoenix Children's.
While the Department of Public Safety has not concluded their investigation as to what led up to the tragic accident, Kevin says law enforcement has notified him that Stacey did nothing wrong, and was hit from behind by a semi truck which failed to stop.
His three children were released yesterday while his niece remains hospitalized.
"I don't even know how to say it, everyone, all of us are just devastated," Kevin said.
Wife Stacey described as 'fierce and loyal' and 'out of my league'
"I've said this before and my brother has said it: she was out of my league...she had a personality that would light up a room; always smiling."
Kevin says his family is reeling at the loss of their beloved Stacey. She worked as a physical therapy assistant and was always helping others get up from their weaknesses and helped improve others not only physically but emotionally.
"Especially with her working in the physical therapy world, when people are injured and trying to get back to a sense of normalcy, everyone talked abut how she (Stacey) would lighten up the room and make others feel better about their situation," Kevin said.
The Chandler couple would have been celebrating their 16th wedding anniversary next month. Just a few weeks ago the two were in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a work trip. Kevin says while family and friends have been at his side since last Saturday, he says he continues to carry on because "I don't have a choice."
Family friends have set up two GoFundMe accounts for Stacey and her niece Izzy, whose recovery may require long-term care.
