Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016

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o c o l ly . c o m october 26, 2016

Nash Lucas Nikita Nakal Bonnie Stone Marvin Stone

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N ash Lucas

sp e ci a l is s u e

The last Smile: Remembering Nash lucas

BY St etson Payn e

T

I n vest igative reporter

he parade moved along one vehicle after another.

Niki Strauch held onto her son’s stroller at Hall of Fame Avenue and Main Street.

She reached down to get 2-year-old Nash Lucas to turn around.

“Nash, look at me!

Smile!” she said, trying to take the picture before the toddler turned back around to watch.

Nash looked up with a joyful grin. He had seen a parade in Weatherford and had been waiting for weeks to go to the homecoming parade in Stillwater. He didn’t want to miss a second. Pictures could wait.

It was the last time Niki saw Nash smile.

Minutes later, Niki screamed so loud she couldn’t hear the squadron of helicopters descending on the intersection, so terrified she thought the nightmare wouldn’t end, so beside herself she couldn’t feel the rotor wash whipping her hair and blood-stained clothes as the helicopter carried her son away forever.

Leaving home

Josh Lucas didn’t know what to do when he learned he would be a father. Fatherhood frightened him, barely out of high school and suddenly responsible for another human being.

Niki and Josh were young and in love. But Niki’s pregnancy eventually ended their relationship. It wasn’t ideal, but both of them were excited to be parents. Josh’s fear and anxiety turned to anticipation. On April 24, 2013, Josh saw Nash for the first time.

“That human right there is someone me and her made,” Josh said. “I’d never thought about being a dad. It hadn’t really hit me until that moment. That was our son.”

At first, Josh didn’t fully take on fatherhood. He was fine seeing his son every other weekend. Nash was too young to do much more than waddle around in his onesies, anyway. He couldn’t play catch or sit on Josh’s shoulders, yet.

Soon Nash’s personality broke through, showing the same qualities, facial expressions and mannerisms as his father. Josh wanted to be dad, to be involved with his son’s life, so Nash could have a better one.

“He was my mini-me,” Josh said. “There was a sense of pride in that, too.

That was my son, and I could see myself in him early.”

At that point, Niki was about to move to Stillwater for classes. Josh went out of his way putting interstate miles on his car to see his son. It wasn’t easy, but they made it work.

On Oct. 23, 2015, Josh woke up early to get Nash

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2016

Courtesty of Stephanie Lucas

Nash Lucas stands in his grandparents’ driveway Oct. 23, 2015, the day before the OSU homecoming parade crash.

some McDonald’s for breakfast in Weatherford, where Nash was visiting Josh’s family. It was the standard order: a sausage biscuit and a hash brown.

Nash didn’t care for the biscuit, but he loved the sausage patty in the middle.

Father and son sat on the couch watching TV at Josh’s parents’ house.

They usually hung out until one or both of them fell asleep. Nash played his favorite video games with his dad on Josh’s phone. Sometimes they played outside or traveled

the neighborhood on foot and, in Nash’s case, his own little car.

Josh didn’t know yet whether he would take Nash back to his mom that Friday night. Niki wanted them to go as a family to the Sea of Orange Parade, but that meant Josh had to wake up at 6 a.m. to make it to Stillwater with Nash on time.

Instead of waiting for Saturday morning, Josh loaded his 2007 Acura TL. His parents came to the driveway to hug Nash and say goodbye, knowing they would see him again

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the next weekend.

With his sunglasses on, a banana in his hand and a smile on his face, Nash saw Weatherford drift from the car mirrors behind him one last time.

On the road, they talked back and forth. Nash never liked his dad’s taste in music and preferred the “Barney & Friends” soundtrack on repeat to anything on the radio or Josh’s phone. They sang along with every track.

When Josh did get a break from “Barney,” he drummed along to his music on the steering wheel.

Josh watched in his mirror as Nash mimicked him, drumming on his legs and car seat to keep up.

Nash slapped his car seat to his dad’s cadence down the highway, eventually falling out of the song or losing track when Josh sped up and didn’t play fair. Each time Nash lost track, he giggled and laughed himself silly in the backseat.

Josh pulled the Acura into the Mathis Brothers Furniture parking lot in Oklahoma City. Niki and her mother, Carie Strauch, weren’t there yet, so Josh decided to hang out in the parking lot and wait. He unbuckled Nash from his car seat and let him sit up front with his dad in the parking lot.

“Dad, I want to drive your car,” Nash said. His red hair was barely visible over the Acura’s dashboard, but he wanted to

drive.

“All right, sit on my lap,” Josh said, pulling his son over and letting him grip the wheel. The empty parking lot felt like Nash’s personal test track.

He used all his strength to crank the wheel left and right.

To Nash, it was the Indy 500. It became Josh’s happiest memory with his son.

Soon, Josh buckled Nash in the backseat of Niki’s truck as the sun started setting in the west.

“I love you,” Josh said as he waved and pushed the truck door closed.

Standing in the lot, Josh put his face against the tinted glass to peer inside the truck. His mini-me beamed back at him with a wide smile.

Josh waved goodbye to Niki and Carie before the truck pulled away to Stillwater. He went home to his apartment in downtown Oklahoma City, a few blocks down the road from OU Children’s Hospital.

He had seen Nash smile for the last time.

“I just miss being his dad,” Josh said in an interview at Niki’s home in Weatherford. “Just having that bond. You can build relationships and friendships or whatever, but that’s the strongest bond I’ve ever had with anybody.

“You can’t get that back now.”

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sp e ci a l is s u e funny. He was real little, and he would pretend like Knucklehead that.”

Carie knew Niki was Nash loved his kitchen, pregnant well before her but tractors were his daughter told her. She favorite thing to play with, had worked as a nurse see and drive. Grandpa and raised three girls; she Chuck had two riding lawn teaches in the nursing mowers, a John Deere and school at Southwestern a Craftsman. The first time Oklahoma State University Nash saw the bright John in Weatherford.

Deere green, he wanted to For nine months, Niki, drive it. only 17, and her family got Each time Nash clammore and more excited. bered up on top of the Nash made the first of mower to sit in front of many dramatic appearCarie or Chuck, he pushed ances when he was born. with his arms to keep their “My god he was huge,” hands off the wheel so he Carie said. “And he’s got could drive. red hair!”

“No, I do it!” Nash said, The red hair came from trying with all he could to Carie’s side of the famturn the wheel. ily. Nash was born with a The mower went every broken collar bone, and direction except a straight for the first few months, line. Trying to drive made he cried frequently. Niki Nash light up more than lived with her parents then anything. In the evenings, and started her freshman he ran back and forth beyear, studying biology, at tween his grandparents.

SWOSU when Nash was 4 “You’re a knucklehead,” months old.

Chuck said, looking down For Niki’s parents, Nash at his grandson. was the son they never “I’m not a knuckle-eeraised. He grew up in their head!” Nash said, rushing house outside Weatherover to Carie to support ford, and he grew up fast. his argument. “Grandma, Although Nash didn’t am I a knuckle-ee-head?” learn to walk until he was “No, sweetie, you’re 15 months old, he said precious,” Carie said every “Momma” early on. “No” time. Nash always had to came soon after, and at make a point; it was in his his second birthday, he personality to go back and was making sentences prove Grandpa wrong. and holding conversations “See? I’m precious,” about tractors with anyone Nash said. who would listen. At his After two years at second Thanksgiving, he SWOSU, Niki decided she stood on a stool and helped wanted to change majors Carie make pumpkin pie. to chemical engineering.

“He had this little That meant transferring to kitchen and he was always Oklahoma State University cooking in his little kitch- in Stillwater, two hours en,” Carie said. “He would and 136 miles from her cook us food and he’d family in Weatherford. bring it to us. It was so Carie and Chuck didn’t STORY CONTINUEd from page 2

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2016

Courtesy of Niki Strauch

Niki Strauch holds her son Nash Lucas near his second birthday in April 2015. Niki raised Nash in Weatherford for two years before moving to Stillwater in 2015 to study chemical engineering. She moved back to Weatherford after Nash died.

like it, but they felt they had to let their daughter go. Having Nash didn’t change her hopes and dreams, the life she wanted to have for him.

Nash discovered his favorite restaurant in Stillwater early on, and each time Niki picked him up from daycare he asked the same question.

“Momma, can we go to Eskimo Joe’s?” Nash said.

The first time Nash saw life-sized Eskimo Joe and Buffy, he was hooked.

But after the first visit,

Nash enjoyed the mascots from only a distance. He thought they were a little scary up close.

“He always wanted to go and see them,” Niki said.

“And he would talk about it for days after he went there.”

Niki loved Stillwater; a small town by national standards, it was a metropolis compared to Weatherford. There were places to go, things to do and plenty of friends made in college.

Each morning Niki woke up with Nash in her arms.

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He went to daycare while she went to class and worked for OSU Parking and Transportation Services, making a living one parking ticket at a time.

After school, Nash played in Couch Park.

Tucked behind the Stillwater Senior Center and deep in the trees off 12th Avenue, he tired himself out at the playground before they went home.

These used to be the happy places, where Niki took her son to see his biggest smiles and loudest

laughs.

Now they’re reminders of something lost and taken from Niki and her family.

Breaking down

In Weatherford on Oct. 24, 2015, Stephanie Lucas was already grabbing a pacifier, blankets, some snacks and other things she anticipated Nash would need in the hospital.

She never unpacked that bag. On the other end of the phone line, she heard STORY CONTINUES ON PAGE 4

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sp e ci a l is s u e Weatherford that night. It her son’s fear, his terror in took time to get to Oklahoma City, time they didn’t each breath. have.

“I’ll never forget the Josh took out his phone panic in his voice when and tried not to cry. He I called him,” Stephanie started deleting every said. game he had ever played Before Josh left his with Nash. It was too apartment, Carie told him much for him to see. He Nash was being flown to didn’t want the reminders The Children’s Hospital of the suffering boy on the at OU Medical Center. other side of those heavy He sped down the road doors. A painful hour later, in downtown Oklahoma the nurse walked in.

City to find an empty “We need to see Nash’s waiting room. No one was closest relatives,” the there yet, not even Nash. nurse said.

Josh paced, trying to tell Niki’s sister, Vanessa, himself the feelings were and Josh stepped inside the wrong. Everything would doors with the nurse. The be all right today. chatter, the white noise None of it made any and the blur of the hospital sense: not the why, nor the faded to nothing. how or what. More family “We can’t fix the dammembers of the wounded age that’s done. We’re filtered in, and by then, losing him,” a nurse said.

Josh’s family arrived.

“We can go up there so he A doctor emerged. can be with only you two, “Who’s with Nash?” he or we can bring him down asked the waiting room. to another room so he can “I’m his dad,” Josh said. be with his whole family.”

“I’ve got him back Josh felt helpless. He here.” The doctor took and Vanessa decided to him aside from the crowd. try to move Nash, but they “He’s not doing very good, wouldn’t have the time. but he’s moving his arms In the ICU, Nash’s conand legs. That’s a good dition plummeted. If they sign right now. wanted to get him to his “But he’s lost a lot of family, they’d have to rush blood, and we’re not sure him down the next few why or what we can do to floors. Josh couldn’t do it; stop it.” he couldn’t will himself to Josh had no words. walk. He couldn’t control He couldn’t stand. His his last moments with his muscles failed him. Beson, and he wasn’t going hind the swinging doors to to force them. intensive care, his son, his “I just stayed in the best friend, his mini-me, room until I could stand was dying. up,” Josh said. “When I Niki and Carie hadn’t walked out, that’s when made it to Oklahoma City the doctor and nurse told yet. Niki had been released my whole family, so I at Stillwater Medical heard every reaction.”

Center, and Carie refused Niki and Carie arrived soon after. No feelings, no treatment until she got to STORY CONTINUEd from page 3

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2016

Courtesy of Stephanie Lucas

Josh Lucas smiles at his son Nash on Nash’s first Halloween in 2013. Nash was supposed to dress as Bob the Builder for Halloween in 2015, but he died in the OSU homecoming crash.

thoughts, no reality registered with Josh. It didn’t make sense.

After some time, Josh walked into the room they had put Nash in.

Niki and Carie stood over him crying before Josh walked over. His emotions changed. He had held it together until now, until it was only he and his son.

The memories, watching TV, the long car rides singing “Barney” songs, all of them came rushing

back in that moment. The time he didn’t have, the days he didn’t get to see his son, the memories he could have made. The sadness slipped to anger, and anger turned to rage.

But in that moment, everything fell away.

Sad, empty silence

A year later, Stephanie walks across the living room and grabs the thick, black three-ring binder full of photos. She grabs

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another stack of developed pictures next to the binder, careful to keep from spilling them all over the floor.

“When this happened I printed out every photo of him I had on my phone so I wouldn’t lose them,” Stephanie said, putting the collection on the ottoman to examine.

It’s a beautiful October Friday outside, eerily similar to that day a year ago when Stephanie and her husband, Brandon Lu-

cas, said goodbye to Nash for the last time in their driveway.

The house is painfully quiet; any minute now, the front door should swing open to their first grandson making an entrance in his tiny cowboy boots and messy red hair.

But that front door stays shut.

Stephanie and Brandon flip through the pages and sort the hard copies into stacks. Most of them are portraits from Stephanie’s phone, documenting her grandson’s short life. Each page brings a sniffle or sigh, memories brought back to life if for only a fleeting moment.

Soon they find a picture of Nash with his parents, his first Halloween at only 6 months old. Nash wore his lion costume with big ears and a mane, his smile wide and looking toward the camera from his dad’s arms.

“Is this his first Halloween?” Brandon said.

“Yeah, I remember that year,” Stephanie said.

“I thought he was Bob the Builder that year,” Brandon said.

Stephanie paused.

“He was supposed to be Bob the Builder last Halloween,” Stephanie said, tearing up. “That costume wasn’t easy to find because that show isn’t as popular anymore, but he loved it so much.”

Stephanie grimaces on the sofa where Nash watched “PAW Patrol,” “Barney” and “Bob the Builder” over and over.

The TV sits dark and empty. Nash’s toy chest is STORY CONTINUES ON PAGE 5

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sp e ci a l is s u e In all directions, the blinking radio towers, twinkling in the corner, up against red windmill lights and the the railing to the basement bright pillars from oil rigs stairs Nash was always turn the horizon into an afraid of. endless skyline.

Josh sat in front of the That October night after TV for several weeks the crash, the watercolor after Nash’s death. He orange sunset dimmed to was angry, frustrated and black, leaving empty darklost, contained in the room ness on the road to Weathwhere he had spent the erford. Niki was headed most time with his son in home in shock without her his short life. son, unable to comprehend After those weeks, Josh the past few hours. and Niki grew closer.

Normal is never coming Although they hadn’t been back for Niki and her famtogether since before Nash ily. Normal doesn’t account was born, they knew him for the silence each mornbest, and only they knew ing and each night. No one each other’s pain. to read “The Goodnight The evening drive from Moon” to. No smiling Oklahoma City to Weathchild in pajamas to wake erford is long, growing up next to before class. darker as the metro’s lights Niki comes back to fade in the rearview mirror.

Stillwater every so often STORY CONTINUEd from page 4

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2016

to see friends and go to Adacia Chambers’ court dates. Chambers is awaiting trial for charges of second-degree murder after she crashed into the crowd at the 2015 Sea of Orange Parade.

The town Niki once loved is bittersweet. There are memories of happier times: sitting at Eskimo Joe’s, the shaded playground at Couch Park, the ducks at Theta Pond.

It’s not only what remains that reminds her of Nash. It’s also the things that are gone.

The day Niki moved home to Weatherford floored her. For the first time in two years, she wasn’t carrying boxes of toddler-sized clothes.

There wasn’t a playroom

to setup or a racecar bed to build.

She was alone again.

“He had a room in every other place we’d been at,” Niki said. “He doesn’t have that at my house because he’s not there anymore.”

At Carie and Chuck’s house, Nash’s bathtub toys are still in the bathroom, a pair of his shoes in the closet and his dusty fingerprint on the TV stand.

None of them will move again if Carie has it her way.

Niki keeps a full schedule. She switched back to biology at SWOSU and works in the physics department as a secretary during the day. She also takes evening shifts at Weatherford Regional Hospital as a nursing assistant.

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She wants to eventually become a pediatrician, to fix children when they’re hurt or sick.

“There’s always going to be those emotions, sadness and grief,” Niki said.

“Not keeping myself busy would push me into a place I don’t want to be.

“And I know he wouldn’t want me to be in that place, either.”

There’s a part of Stillwater that Niki avoids, an intersection she won’t go near.

Each time, the haunting nightmare plays out the same as it did that October Saturday. She remembers the roar of an engine, a silver Hyundai charging at her and barely having time to gasp for air before she blacked out.

Niki came to in a sea of chaos; people, first responders and debris covered the asphalt. She struggled to her feet in a panic, frantically looking for her son in the intersection.

The lucid and chilling details roll on tape in her mind. Each time she snaps awake, alone in the darkness of her bedroom.

The sad, empty silence lingers in her singlewide trailer, taunting her one more time.

Stetson Payne is a multimedia journalism junior from Broken Arrow.

He can be reached at stetson.payne@okstate.edu.

Follow Stetson: @ S t e t s o n _ _ P ay n e

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The flight of an angel: remembering nikita nakal She wanted to be a part of it.”

Less than two hours later, Bhardwaj called his friend, wo phone calls Akhilesh Moparthi. defined Oct. 24, Akhilesh was walking 2015, for Bhardwaj home from the parade with Varma.

The night before, he and his a group of friends when his girlfriend, Nikita Nakal, spent phone rang.

He took it out of his pocket the evening in Oklahoma City. and answered Bhardwaj’s call.

The trip was one on a list of Akhilesh’s mind went blank many for the couple. at three frantic words.

At 2 a.m., they returned to “Nikita is dead.”

Bhardwaj’s home in Stillwater. Before going to bed, they An unlikely pairing prepared dinner together, and All that united Nikita and a friend stopped by. He asked Bhardwaj was their second whether they were going to language and their passion for the parade. finance.

“You didn’t tell me about They met in 2012 at JP this,” Nikita told Bhardwaj.

Morgan in Mumbai, India.

“We should go for that.”

Bhardwaj, 26, wasn’t as in- Employees of the branch, the terested, so he suggested they two first interacted during their orientation. wait until morning to make Bhardwaj, from Vizag, Intheir decision. dia, was a stranger to the area.

He was confident Nikita His first language was Telugu, would sleep in; she almost Nikita’s Hindi. But they both always did on weekends. spoke English.

At 9 a.m., a phone call Within the first week of woke them up. contact, Nikita, a Mumbai Usually, Nikita, 23, would native, recommended places go back to sleep, but that Bhardwaj could visit on morning, she never did. weekends.

“That day, she just woke Soon, the destinations up,” Bhardwaj said. “She wanted to be in the parade. became places they explored

BY Lu ke Gar z a

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Staf f reporte r

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2016

mountain system.

They booked their boldest trip for July 22, 2015: to the United States to further their educations.

Nikita did her undergraduate studies at the Toloni College of Commerce in Mumbai; Bhardwaj received his MBA at Christ University in Bangalore, India, before accepting his job at JP Morgan.

When Bhardwaj left India, he left behind more than his family and home. His college credit from India couldn’t be transferred to a U.S. university, essentially forcing him to restart his graduate studies.

Nikita and Bhardwaj applied to Oklahoma State University before they flew to the U.S. They wanted to pursue careers in finance and felt OSU’s program suited them well.

“We thought we would (move here) together,” BhardCourtesy of Bhardwaj Varma waj said “And after that, we’ll Nikita Nakal smiles at the 2015 homecoming parade. Bhardwaj Varma, her boyfriend and find a job and settle in. That’s an Oklahoma State University graduate student, was there with her. She died in the crash. what we thought.” together. Throughout their three years as a couple in India, Bhardwaj and Nikita embarked on several trips and vacations. Nikita loved to

travel.

“We went to almost every tourist place in India,” Bhardwaj said.

They ventured to Kashmir,

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the northernmost state in India; Taj Mahal, an instantly recognizable structure and an Indian symbol; and the Himalayas, the world’s highest

A voyage united

Bhardwaj was accepted to OSU. Nikita was not.

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Bhardwaj was upset and worried they wouldn’t be able to see each other as much, but Nikita enrolled at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.

When they flew to the U.S., they took a connecting flight from Dallas to Oklahoma City.

Nikita and Bhardwaj stepped out of the plane, entering their new country for the first time. As they walked through Will Rogers International Airport, Nikita absorbed her surroundings.

They strolled past cafes, shops and waiting areas. Nikita saw something that told her she was home: little UCO banners hung throughout the airport.

She filled with pride as she pointed to one of them.

“See, it’s my college!” she said.

Bhardwaj continued walking with her and realized there weren’t any OSU flags or posters. Toward the exit, though, he saw an OSU banner that dwarfed those of UCO. He playfully mocked Nikita about the size of her banners, but it didn’t stymie her pride.

“She was happy with even that small thing,” Bhardwaj said.

At UCO, Nikita took classes only Mondays and Wednesdays. Bhardwaj rented a car to pick up Nikita after her classes every Wednesday.

She spent weekends in Stillwater with him, after which he drove her back to Edmond in time for class.

Bhardwaj isn’t particularly social; he is quiet and reserved. Nikita enjoyed any setting with an abundance of people. She participated in many events at UCO. When

Courtesy of Bhardwaj Varma

Nikita Nakal (right) and her boyfriend, Bhardwaj Varma, pose for a picture at the 2015 Oklahoma State homecoming parade. They started dating after meeting in 2012 in India.

in Stillwater, she took part in Indian Student Association events, as well.

“She has a very positive impact on others,” Bhardwaj said. “Whenever someone is low, she can impact them and make them happy just by talking to them. But she is very sensitive as well. If she sees somebody in pain, she cries that very moment. She can’t stand seeing anyone in pain.”

About a month into their first semester, Bhardwaj purchased a car of his own: a used Pontiac Grand Am. “Everything was perfect, actually,” Bhardwaj said. “It all went as planned.”

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2016

‘There she is’

Akhilesh sprinted through the streets of Stillwater, bobbing and weaving around houses and neighborhoods, the call with Bhardwaj ongoing.

“Where are you?” Akhilesh asked as he bolted toward the intersection he was at 15 minutes before.

When Akhilesh arrived at Hall of Fame and Main, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

Police cars, officers, ambulances, even a helicopter in the sky. He panned the area for Bhardwaj but couldn’t find him. He saw bodies lying on the ground. He saw medical personnel loading people into

the back of ambulances.

“It was like a scene out of a movie,” Akhilesh said.

Soon, he found Bhardwaj crying hysterically in the distance. His blue-checkered, collared shirt was wrapped around Nikita’s head.

Akhilesh ran to his distressed friend. Bhardwaj pointed to the body on the pavement.

“There she is.”

Moments before, Nikita and Bhardwaj stood at the opposite corner.

“We aren’t getting a better view of this,” Nikita said.

“Let’s go to that side.”

The two crossed the intersection to snap a few pictures.

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Bhardwaj took a picture of Nikita in front of a police officer’s motorcycle. After taking the picture, Bhardwaj and Nikita stood side by side, holding hands, Nikita standing to Bhardwaj’s right.

Suddenly, a car blew past a barrier, hitting the motorcycle and the crowd. Bhardwaj and Nikita stood in the car’s path.

The car knocked Bhardwaj to the ground and hit Nikita head-on, separating the couple. With a scraped right leg, Bhardwaj got up and searched before spotting her on the ground near the car. He rushed to her.

People held Bhardwaj back as he attempted to reach her. He offered his shirt to wrap around her head while someone checked her wounds.

As he waited for someone to signal she was OK, he heard a voice say, “Son, I think she is gone.” Until he heard those six words, he had hope.

“You just have to take care of the person who isn’t there, whose mind is lost,” Akhilesh said. “He was lost. He had no idea what to do.”

‘The toughest part’

It was 2:30 a.m. in Mumbai.

A police officer joined Bhardwaj and Akhilesh in a private room in Stillwater Medical Center. The officer informed them he was calling Nikita’s family. He asked Bhardwaj whom he wanted to call. Bhardwaj chose Nikita’s brother, Nishith.

“Obviously, no parent would expect to receive a call late in the night saying that their daughter passed away,” Bhardwaj said. “That was the toughest part I’ve ever faced after this happened.”

The officer dialed Nishith’s phone number. Nishith

answered. After an introduction, the officer braced himself and muttered the words, “I’m sorry. Your sister is no more.”

Bhardwaj nearly fell out of his chair.

A doctor at Stillwater Medical Center gave him some pills to help him sleep and to alleviate the pain in his right leg.

Bhardwaj was taken to Akhilesh’s neighbor’s house.

Bhardwaj’s room is packed with pictures from his adventures and experiences with Nikita. There are some on his keychain. He has pictures of them on some of his coffee mugs. Akhilesh worried Bhardwaj’s grief would increase if he were taken home.

Bhardwaj felt it was his duty to send Nikita back to hers. Nikita’s parents couldn’t wait. They needed to see their daughter.

Bhardwaj and Akhilesh first went to the Oklahoma Mortuary Services in Oklahoma City. They were handed a few documents and were told it wasn’t possible to get her to India as quickly as they wanted.

“How could they say (it would take) more than two weeks?” Akhilesh said. “We could not have accepted that.”

Within a day, Bhardwaj received the necessary documents for transport.

“It would not have happened if we didn’t push them,” Akhilesh said. “We had to push a lot. We had to keep calling them again and again.”

After completing the documents, Akhilesh and Bhardwaj went to the morgue.

It was the first time Bhardwaj had seen Nikita since his shirt was wrapped around her head in the street.

STORY CONTINUES on page 9

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sp e ci a l is s u e

Always Together: remembering the Stones One year later, Doug and Rhoda sit in Doug’s office ffice 213A is together. Rhoda smiles beempty. It’s fore she starts to talk about next to Rhoda how her relationship with Hughes’ office Bonnie began. in the Public Information Bonnie hired Rhoda in Building. Doug Reed’s of1987 in the student loans fice is across the hall. department. In 1996, Rhoda and Doug still Doug hired Bonnie to the occupy their offices, but Institutional Research and Bonnie Stone no lonInformation Management ger does. However, her department. She brought belongings still fill her Rhoda with her. They all coworkers’ workplaces. worked together until BonA “World’s Best Boss” nie’s death. mug, a gift from Bonnie, Over the decades, the sits on the front of Doug’s three learned a lot about desk. Her old candy holder each other. They knew is on the other end. The Bonnie rode her bike to stainless steel cup used to work every day and that be on Bonnie’s desk filled she was always with Marwith chocolate for guests vin. If you knew Bonnie, to enjoy. you knew Marvin.

COurtesy of Oklahoma State Communications “I refilled it for about “We actually knew them Marvin Stone was a professor at OSU in the Biosystems and Agriculture Department. His both pretty well, truthfulsix months, but I couldn’t wife, Bonnie Stone, worked in the Institutional Research and Information Management. keep up,” Doug said. ly,” Doug said. “We knew The cup still sits empty Marv, but we really got to work,” Doug said. “It’s who died when Adacia from a police officer, askon his desk. One of her just different, too. When Chambers reportedly sped ing for the couple’s next of know him over the last few plants also rests in the you lose a family mempast a barrier during the kin. Rhoda was unaware of years because he was over corner of his office. here quite a bit.” ber, you’re not constantly Sea of Orange Parade as the full situation, but she Propped next to the plant Marvin made the trek reminded about it every part of Oklahoma State left the game. is a shadowbox that was from Ag Hall, where he single day. You think University’s homecoming “At that point, you’re given to him. Inside the was a professor in the about them every now celebration. just hoping they were inblack frame, next to a Pis- and then, but when I walk Biosystems and AgriculOf the four, Nash Lucas jured and gonna recover,” tol Pete logo, orange and down the hall, I walk by was with his mother.

Doug said. “Then you find ture Department, to Public white lettering reads, “The her office door every day.

Information every day at Nikita Nakal was with her out later on that …” best things in life are the You just can’t get away boyfriend. Bonnie and Doug couldn’t finish the lunchtime. The two made people we love, the memo- from it at work.”

Marvin Stone were with sentence, but he delivered sandwiches in the break ries we’ve made, and being room. They unloaded their Bonnie wouldn’t want each other. the news to Rhoda by an OSU Cowboys fan.” On this story written. Her supplies from the fridge.

“That was one of the phone a year ago. the back of the frame, “In After their sandwiches coworkers know that much best things (that) hap“He asked, ‘Are you Memory of Bonnie Stone” is true. were made, they migrated pened; they both died at sitting down?’” Rhoda is written. to the conference room to “She would have really the same time because remembered. “That right The memories and poseat their meal. It was usuhated all this publicity that they were always togeththere just hit me. sessions are what Doug she’s getting after death,” er,” Rhoda said “It is so hard to imagine. ally only them. Most of the and Rhoda have left of time, Doug stuck his head Doug said.

Hours after the crash, You don’t expect it. You Bonnie. in the door to ask how they Bonnie died Oct. 24, Rhoda was at Boone don’t expect someone so “After so long, spendwere doing. On the few 2015, alongside her Pickens Stadium watching close for that to happen. ing day after day after day, husband, Marvin. They occasions he sat down and OSU play Kansas. That’s It could be anyone, right? were two of four victims when she got a phone call But, somebody so close?” ate with them, the couple it’s more like family than BY de kota gr egory

O

di gi ta l sports editor

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2016

OCOLLY.COM

was welcoming.

They were known as generous. Every time the couple took a trip out of the country, they made sure to get Rhoda a glass angel. Those angels are now in a cabinet at Rhoda’s home.

All that giving is why it’s impossible to forget them. That, and the time spent.

“You’re talking about 29 years that we worked together,” Rhoda said. “It’s not easy to just forget.

There’s always something that reminds me.”

Bonnie’s position was temporarily filled until the Student Information System ended this summer, but she is still listed as “coordinator” on the department’s website. The Biosystems and Agriculture Department created the “Dr. Marvin Stone Endowed Scholarship Fund” in 2007, and the scholarship still exists. The fund saw a tremendous increase after Marvin’s death when 130 donors contributed $39,394 this past year.

The generosity keeps them from forgetting.

“You’re never guaranteed tomorrow,” Doug said. “We’re definitely reminded.”

Dekota Gregory is a sports media junior from Locust Grove. He can be reached at ozone@ocolly. com.

F o l l o w d e k o ta : @ d e k o ta g r e g o r y

PAGE 8

n ikita n akal

sp e ci a l is s u e STORY CONTINUEd from page 7

He held her hand, kissed her on the forehead and wept.

Akhilesh typically was successful when attempting to console Bhardwaj, but he couldn’t say anything during that moment.

“I couldn’t open my mouth,” Akhilesh said. “I was petrified.

“You would never get any negative vibe from her. There aren’t many people that you meet and you can just tell they are nice people. I don’t remember a lot of conversations with her, but I still do remember her laughter.”

Before taking off for India, Bhardwaj dropped all of his classes. He was unsure about coming back.

“She wouldn’t have come without me, and I wouldn’t

have come without her,” Bhardwaj said.

Bhardwaj departed to Mumbai on Oct. 28. Nikita’s body arrived in a cargo plane the next day.

Once in Mumbai, Bhardwaj unveiled his relationship to Nikita’s family.

Her parents knew they were friends, but they didn’t know the extent of their relationship.

They knew their daughter ventured to the U.S. to pursue higher education, but they didn’t know Bhardwaj went with her. They didn’t know she was in Stillwater. They didn’t know she was at the parade.

Bhardwaj went with them to retrieve Nikita’s body.

“Her parents didn’t get mad at him,” Akhilesh said. “They didn’t blame him for anything.

“I kept telling him that it’s

not your fault. She passed by doing what she wanted to do.”

‘Too good to be true’

Bhardwaj stayed in India for three months before returning to the United States, living with Nikita’s parents for about a month. Now, he considers her family part of his. He talks to her parents almost daily, more often than he talks to his.

Once he came back to the United States, Bhardwaj did whatever he could to keep his mind off the death of the love of his life. He spent a lot of time at home watching TV. Nikita normally prodded Bhardwaj to come out of his shell and be more social, but without her, he struggled to do so.

Akhilesh and Nikita’s friend, Vinay Gummadi, did

their best to console him, calling him to make sure he was OK nearly every day.

“It’s tough to listen to this stuff, but it’s important,” Akhilesh said. “The more he talks about it, the more he expresses it. The more he shares his thoughts, the earlier is the grief or the pain gonna sink in.”

Despite the weight of the tragedy, Bhardwaj said it doesn’t impact his schooling in any way. He spends half the day studying, Vinay said.

“All he did was go to class, study,” Vinay said. “The only other important thing in his life was her.”

Bhardwaj and Nikita planned on getting married one day. They were eager to complete their educations, find jobs and start a life together. They had a trip to New

York City planned for December. In February, they were going to Aspen, Colorado.

They wanted to share their intentions of marriage with Nikita’s parents in June 2016, after the school year.

“Initially when I looked at them, I was like ‘This is how a couple should be,’” Vinay said. “Probably all the good things that never last, this was one of them. When things are too perfect, too perfect to be true, too good to be true, I thought this was one of them.

Things that are too perfect, they don’t really last. “... He lost somebody he loves right in front of his eyes.

He’s probably the strongest person I’ve seen.”

Akhilesh said he thinks about Oct. 24, 2015, every day. He said there’s one question that always arises when it

comes up in his mind: “Why her?”

“Maybe because she was so good,” Akhilesh said. “Maybe she deserved a better place than this world we live in.”

Bhardwaj still talks about Nikita as if she is still here.

His conversations with Akhilesh about her are casual.

They speak her name normally, as if she is right there.

“To me, she is an angel,” Bhardwaj said. “She is something that cannot be replaced.

Ever.”

Luke Garza is a sports media junior from Gig Harbor, Washington. He can be reached at luke. garza@okstate.edu.

Follow luke: @lukeagarza

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FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 26, 2016

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Wander (about) 4 Fragrant bloom 9 Utter disorder 14 Second person in Eden 15 Kitchen sponge brand 16 Full of moxie 17 Like many a gray day 18 Peanuts 20 Sales meeting aid 22 Feel crummy 23 Coal __ 24 Most populous continent 25 Date night destination 28 One of a gallon’s 16 30 Like a successful business, presumably 32 Stand against 34 Northern California city 37 Birch family tree 38 Peanuts 41 Hardly fresh 42 Bit of photography equipment 43 Southern California team 45 Inside information 49 Copper source 50 Hits the road 53 Albany-to-Buffalo canal 54 Former Air France jet 56 Geologist’s division 57 Tops by a slight margin 58 Peanuts 62 Picnic invader 63 Ready to hit the hay 64 Invalidate 65 Maiden name preceder 66 Used up 67 Pond critters 68 Mexican Mrs. DOWN 1 Gaudy trinket 2 Opposed

10/26/16

By Patti Varol

3 Enlargement advantage 4 Scot’s swimming spot 5 German “I” 6 Welcoming wreath 7 Highway through the Yukon 8 Newswoman Roberts 9 “Erin Burnett OutFront” channel 10 Pick up with effort 11 Geographically based trio 12 Makes trite, in a way 13 Hoff who wrote the “Henrietta” children’s books 19 Red “Sesame Street” puppet 21 Light beer?

25 Biceps exercise 26 Not at all handy 27 “Trainwreck” director Judd 29 Pay-__-view 31 Kings, e.g.

33 Lumbered

Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved

©2016 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

35 “MASH” setting: Abbr.

36 Lopsided 38 Sci-fi fleet vessel 39 Leave no doubt 40 GI addresses 41 __-mo 44 What a freelancer may work on 46 Hearts, but not minds 47 Ballpark snack

10/26/16

48 Lipton rival 51 Lindsay of “Mean Girls” 52 Foolish 55 Anticounterfeiting agts.

57 Slim swimmers 58 Euro divs.

59 West Coast hrs.

60 Houston-toDallas dir.

61 Belly PAGE 10

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Daily Horoscope oklahoma state

STUDENT MEDIA STUDENT MEDIA AT OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY 106 Paul Miller Building • OSU • Stillwater, OK 74078 Phone: 405-744-6363 • studentmedia@okstate.edu

Level: 1 2 3 4

The mission of Oklahoma State Student Media is to provide a professional environment where students create outstanding journalism and help local businesses.

Oklahoma State's award-winning newspaper since 1895

SOLUTION TO TUESDAY’S PUZZLE

10/26/16 Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9.

For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit

www.sudoku.org.uk © 2016 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2016

To place an ad, call 405-744-7371 or email ads@ocolly.com To place a classified ad, call 405-744-7355 or email lori@ocolly.com To pitch a story idea, call 405-744-6365 or email news.ed@ocolly.com For information on working here, stop by Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. or email editorinchief@ocolly.com If you want to reach our investigative journalists, email investigations@ocolly.com To report an error, complaint or other issue, email editorinchief@ocolly.com To report an issue with newspaper delivery, email barbara.allen@okstate.edu or call 405-744-8369

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By Nancy Black Tribune Content Agency Today’s Birthday (10/26/16). Prioritize peaceful reflection and inner discovery this year. Create visions for the future, after considering the past. Professional realignment next spring comes before a surge in passion and fun with family. A new domestic phase after autumn leads to a career rise. “Love” is your mantra.

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

Aries (March 21-April 19) -- Today is a 9 -- Focus on your work and fitness to manage a busy phase. Schedule carefully to prioritize what’s most urgent. Avoid over-indulging or distractions. Get help from friends.

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Gemini (May 21-June 20) -- Today is a 7 -- You can realize a long-desired home project. Strengthen partnerships by putting your words into action. Get the family to help. Make those improvements you’ve been dreaming about.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Dig deeper into a favorite subject. Ask questions to engage in an illuminating conversation. Study something you love. Put things together newly. Write and share your discoveries.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Today is a 9 -- Ready, set, go! Get moving, and profits flood in. Mix love into your work, and demand rises. Throw yourself into processing a fat harvest. Clean up later.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Today is a 9 -- Keep in action, and produce great personal results. Beat your best record! Others cheer you on. Manage an endurance challenge with regular breaks and good fuel.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- Today is a 7 -- Lay foundational groundwork and organization to support an upcoming event or trip. Plot and schedule actions. Make reservations and preparations. Peaceful planning sets the stage. Imagine the performance.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- Today is an 8 -- Apply physical energy to a team effort. Work out the plan of attack, and then take your positions. Collaborate for great results. Others appreciate your decisiveness.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- Today is an 8 -- An opportunity for a rise in professional status requires quick action. Stay in communication. Accept the invitation. Handle responsibilities with your team. Walk the talk.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Today is an 8 -- Get out and go.

Travel or study. Explore and investigate. Extra action earns a fat bonus. Learn through direct experience. It’s an excellent day for discovery.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- Today is a 9 -- Discipline with financial matters grows your bank account. With your partner, find ways to motivate each other to save. Actions taken now provide profitable results.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Today is an 8 -- Collaborate with a partner, and put your back into it. Together you can move mountains. Coordinated action today generates abundant results. Push now and celebrate later.

PAGE 11

Blackberries Cucumbers or Green Bell Peppers

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Hansen’s Soda

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Frozen Pizza Sale

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for

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PAGE 12