SUFFOLK, Va. — Christopher Bergendahl was on his way to work when police say his SUV was hit head on by a wrong way driver on Route 58 in Chesapeake near the Suffolk city line.
Bergendahl died Sept. 30, days after the crash left him critically injured.
For his fiancée and mother, the loss has been devastating. As they make funeral arrangements, they are finding comfort in remembering the kind of man Bergendahl was and the impact he had on the people around him.
Bergendahl's fiancée was asleep when he kissed her goodbye and left for work.
Around 7:47 a.m., she received an alert on her phone from his vehicle's SOS crash system.
“I was so very sleepy, I didn't really know what to think about it,” she said.
When 8 a.m. came and Bergendahl still had not arrived at work, she called to make sure he had made it.
She didn't get an answer. She then headed toward the crash scene on Route 58 near the S
“When I got past the airport, then I saw the traffic backing up and I was so like, I've got to get up there,” she said.
After waiting for an officer to provide an update, she made her way to Norfolk General Hospital, the same place where she and Bergendahl first met.
This time, she wasn't arriving for work.
“She came out and she gave me a big hug. She knew who Chris was, and she's like, ‘I have to warn you. He's critical,’” she recalled.
Bergendahl underwent emergency surgery and was later moved to the intensive care unit.
His condition continued to worsen. His family eventually learned that he would not survive.
Bergendahl died Sept. 30. Those who knew him best say he spent his life helping others.
His skills ranged from woodworking and electrical work to plumbing, construction and fixing cars.
“He can do everything, and he tries his best to help everyone,” his fiancée said.
Bergendahl was also an Army veteran who deployed to Iraq with a medical evacuation unit. Even after his death, his family says he continued to help people.
Bergendahl was an organ donor, and his organs were given to recipients in need.
His mother says one of those recipients received Bergendahl's heart in Connecticut, the same state where her son was born.
“His heart came home,” she said. “And when the gentleman read that to me, it was just, if there's any joy in that moment, that his heart came home.”
Now, Bergendahl's mother and fiancée are making funeral arrangements and preparing to say goodbye.
They say they will remember him for the skills he had, his service to his country and, most importantly, the people he helped throughout his life.
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