A New York father of seven was killed in a fatal car crash over the weekend by an alleged drunk driver just one day after he watched one of his sons’ high school football team win a sectional championship.
Joe Stubblefield was driving on a Putnam County road Saturday night with his 7-year-old son when another motorist crossed the double-yellow line and smacked into Stubblefield’s car head-on, authorities said.
The 52-year-old Westchester County resident was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other driver, Marcos Martinez, was taken into custody, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said.
The young son suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Marcos Martinez, 56, of Hopewell Junction, was charged with 2nd-degree vehicular manslaughter, a felony, and driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, the sheriff’s office said.
“He was such a loving father to 7 sons who are all heartbroken by this unimaginable loss,” loved ones wrote in a GoFundMe page raising money for the distraught family.
His children are 24, 18, a set of twins who are 17, 6, 7, and 3, according to the fundraising page.
Stubblefield and his 7-year-old visited three of his other sons before the fatal crash.
“Everyone said their, ‘I love yous’ and ‘goodbyes’ and gave hugs not knowing that this would be the last,” the fundraiser states. “About 4 minutes after leaving the house Joe and his 7 year old son were hit by a drunk driver.”
The father watched his teen son Erik and Haldane High School win a Section I football championship last Friday, a family member said, according to the Highland Current.
The team is dedicating the regional game they are scheduled to play in this Friday in their quest for a state championship.
So far the GoFundMe page has raised more than $13,000 with a goal of $25,000.