Cole Young and Marsada “Sadi” Connors with their dog, Maezy, during one of their recent travels. (Family photo)
Loved ones of a Jersey Shore man and woman killed in Illinois as they drove home from a cross country trip last summer will gather at the ocean next weekend on the one year anniversary of their deaths.
Cole Young, 19, and Marsada “Sadi” Connors, 20, were high school sweethearts from Point Pleasant Borough. Their tragic deaths as they drove east on an Illinois highway after being struck by a tractor trailer led to a saying people used to remember them, “Live Like Cole and Sadi,” being posted as a hashtag on social media.
Now, an organization in their memory, The Cole and Sadi Foundation, which awards scholarships and sells apparel with the saying, will host a surfing “paddle out“ in Bay Head on Aug. 20 at the Mount Street beach.
A paddle out is common in surf and coastal communities to remember surfers or others close to the ocean. Surfers paddle out into the water and eventually link up in a circle, say a few words, splash water, chant and leave flowers. The circle represents how the ocean brings people together, said organizer Courtney Arroyo, a board member and Young’s sister.
The Cole and Sadi event is free, and anyone interested in attending does not have to enter the water, as many people attend to be part of the celebration, and the foundation will be selling merchandise for their efforts. Lifeguards, though, will be on duty, Arroyo said.
Arroyo said the foundation, in a short time, has awarded two college scholarships, sponsored two students for a week-long session at Summertime Surf camp and co-sponsored, with Garden State Marina, equipment for the establishment of a new fishing club at a local elementary school.
Cole Young and Marsada “Sadi” Connors in a family photo.
Last summer, the couple’s death sent a wave of grief over the Point Pleasant area. Many knew Young and Connors were on the trip out west, and followed their progress on social media. They took their dog too, Maezy, who also died in the wreck.
The couple, mourners said, packed a lot of living into their young lives, were soulmates and planning a life together. Both were graduates of Point Pleasant Borough High School, Young in 2020, Connors in 2019. Both worked at the same local pizza parlor and were active in high school sports.
They loved the outdoors, adventures and being near or in the water. Young was working for a local construction company, while Connors was working at a pediatric therapy center and had plans to attend Rutgers to attain an occupational therapy degree. In 2020, seeing a need, Connors volunteered with the Point Pleasant Borough First Aid Squad to drive ambulances during the toughest, early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Illinois authorities say their minivan was heading east on Interstate 70, with Young at the wheel, when it was was struck by a truck that careened into oncoming traffic and slammed their car into a ditch.
Connors’ mother, Kimberly Kohler, said in a lawsuit she was on the phone with her daughter at the time. She heard her scream, the sound of an impact, and the call dropped.
Kohler and Young’s mother, Christine Kurzweil, are suing the trucking company, CRST Expedited, and several of its affiliated companies, and the truck driver, Bill Lard of Los Angeles. The case was filed in Cook County, Illinois, but later transferred to federal court in the Northern Illinois district, where it is ongoing. Updated filings allege the truck driver fell asleep.
More information can be found at The Cole and Sadi Foundation and a Facebook page for the paddle out.
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Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com.
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