DURANGO Heavy, spring snow was falling Saturday afternoon as the finishing touches were made on a memorial remembering the victims of a horrific car wreck west of Durango.
Colorado Springs resident Robert Bobby McDonald, 53, and his 10-year-old son, Jaden, were killed in the March 22 accident on U.S. Highway 160, about three miles west of Hesperus.
McDonalds sister, Suzanne Dooley of Woodstock, Ill., and her son, Marine 2nd Lt. Conor Dooley, stationed in Quantico, Va., arrived Friday in Durango to make arrangements for the construction of a wooden memorial at the site of the wreck.
The wooden plaque, commissioned by the family from Towaoc artist Norman Lansing, is inscribed Bobby and Jaden, forever in our hearts. The plaque also contains Native American symbols, including a Kokopelli and dream catcher. In the center is an image of McDonald and Jaden holding hands.
According to Suzanne Dooley, her brother had been fascinated by Native American culture.
He liked to say he was Native American even though he had blond hair and blue eyes, she said.
On Friday night, Suzanne and Conor Dooley went to buy the lumber, concrete and hardware donated by Home Depot that was needed to erect the memorial.
The manager came up to us and said, I hope you know youre not paying for any of this, Suzanne Dooley said.
Saturday morning, the Dooleys and Durango residents Randy and Kathy Black gathered at the Durango Fire & Rescue Authority station in Bodo Park to put together the memorial. By early afternoon, it was erected at the crash site.
Randy Black is a DFRA paramedic captain and was one of the responders to the scene of the accident.
Despite having just ended a graveyard shift, Randy Black was happy to help.
If you put yourself in the position that that familys in, you would hope someone would do the same for you, he said.
Suzanne Dooley choked up as she described her late brother and nephew. She said she will remember McDonald for his sense of humor and Jaden for his kind heart.
(Jaden) was a fireball, he was a pistol, he was a talented little boy. ... He was a sweetheart, she said. Bobby really was an amazing father, an incredible father. ... He was a great cook, a great dad and a man who loved history, both Colorado history and the history of our family.
McDonalds wife, Leslie McDonald, and 12-year-old son, Kellen, were seriously injured in the wreck, and both were airlifted from the scene with severe burns on more than 60 percent of their bodies. In addition, Leslie McDonald suffered internal injuries and some broken bones.
The driver of the second vehicle, 51-year-old Cortez resident David James Hooper, also was killed in the wreck
The accident occurred when Hoopers westbound 2011 Chevy pickup truck crossed the double-yellow line and collided head-on with the McDonalds eastbound 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser. The family had just visited Mesa Verde National Park. Both vehicles burst into flames.
Investigators are awaiting the results of a toxicology report to determine whether Hooper was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Suzanne Dooley said Leslie McDonald is doing much better. She remains at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where her condition has been upgraded to satisfactory. She has undergone three rounds of surgery so far, including an eight-hour skin-grafting surgery last week, though Suzanne Dooley said there will be many more.
She said Kellen still is listed in critical condition at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City. He has had one skin-grafting surgery. He has been taken off a ventilator, though she said he still cant talk and is communicating with the family using a picture board.
Every day, hes doing a little bit better, Dooley said.
The family is waiting to hold funeral services until Leslie and Kellen McDonald are well enough to attend, though Suzanne Dooley acknowledged that could be months away.
A fund has been established at Wells Fargo Bank to assist the McDonald family of Colorado Springs with medical and funeral expenses. The fund name is McDonald Family Donation Account, account No. 3294022755. Donations can be made at any Wells Fargo branch.