By Dan Aceto

Staff Writer

Scarborough resident Kevin Grondin said a car accident that claimed the life of his best friend, Steven Delano, has affected his life in ways he didn’t imagine.

His physical wounds are long healed, but Grondin said he suffers from anxiety and mental anguish because of the accident May 8.

After three weeks in the hospital after, the accident Grondin’s transition back to reality was no easy task. 

Grondin, who suffered injuries to the frontal, temporal and occipital lobes of his brain, said he began to question if he was alive or dead. He performed tests such as leaving coins in certain areas around his nightstand to remind himself he was conscious.

“I began to think, ‘maybe this is real,’” Grondin said. 

Grondin, still in a daze, grabbed his car keys June 7 and headed out the door. Although he was supposed to stay at home, Grondin’s father, Ron, said he managed to get out and drive his pickup truck down Route 1, where he lost consciousness at the wheel and hit an oncoming tanker truck. 

Kevin Grondin did not sustain any serious injuries from the crash.

“We barricaded him in his room at that point,” said Ron Grondin.

The next day, Ron Grondin said he noticed a change in his son’s behavior in that he began to put more and more things together. 

“He saw a plate he made for his mother in ceramics class and he turned to me and said, ‘Dad, I’m alive,’” Said Ron Grondin. “And so I responded back, ‘Yeah … you have been.’”

Ron Grondin said up until that point his son couldn’t recognize certain friends and family members he had known for years and would often tell people to leave the house, thinking they were strangers.

“I thought I was dead, but still fine (and able to function normally). It didn’t work out so well,” Kevin Grondin said. 

Kevin Grondin said he suffers from anxiety as a result of the accident. He said last week he experienced one of the worst attacks he has ever had, which required a brief stay in the hospital. He has learned to cope with all that has happened by talking with others who have experienced similar trauma through a networking group called the Truck Safety Coalition. 

The coalition is dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by truck-related crashes, provides support to truck crash survivors and families of truck crash victims and educates the public, policymakers and media about truck safety issues.

“It’s been absolutely amazing. It’s always one of my backup plans if I’m not having a good day,” he said.

Although Kevin Grondin said he planned to serve in the military, he can’t join because of his head injury. However, he is in continued talks with the Air Force. Grondin graduated last year from Scarborough High School.

“I wanted to do something where I could help my country out. I wanted to fight and serve to protect our rights, not sit back and watch,” he said. 

If he is not able to get into the Air Force he said he might pursue a degree in criminal justice and seek employment with police or FBI. 

He said having the support of teachers, friends and family is what has helped him the most since the accident, and he is also appreciative howunderstanding his employer,Cabela’s has been.

“They check in on me everyday. They always allow me to work around whatever I have going on,” he said.

Kevin Grondin said he remembers all the good times he had with Delano, such as when they would go “mudding” in their trucks, and that when he went hunting this year, he wore his best friend’s camouflage cap and jacket in his memory.

“I still keep him really close,” he said.