Kevin Coachman was walking down Sibley Boulevard in Harvey early Monday when he lost control of the leash for his guide dog, Lucca. Coachman, who is blind, said he desperately tried to locate the leash and the German shepherd to no avail. So he made his way home, just a few blocks away, and called police to report the dog missing. Police ultimately delivered the bad news.
“Somehow, he got hit by a car,” Coachman said. “It blew my mind. I was devastated. I’m still devastated.”
Jason M. Baumann, communications director for the Harvey Police Department, said they received a call Monday morning about a deceased dog at Sibley Boulevard and Center Avenue. Police found the dog had been moved to the side of the road, and no driver was on the scene, Baumann said.
Coachman, 61, said he was knocked down by a car while he was looking for Lucca, though he is unsure whether it was the same car or at the same time the dog was struck. He said he never reported that because he was not seriously injured.
“I’m all right,” he said. “Just little bruises I have from hitting the concrete.”
What hurt more, Coachman said, is that he tried to flag down cars or anyone else on the street for help, while holding his cane.
“Nobody would help me,” Coachman said. “One guy told me to get … out of the street.”
Coachman was not born blind. He said he lost his sight after a carjacking in 2012 in Chicago, in which he was shot multiple times. He has lived in Harvey for the past seven years and got Lucca from The Seeing Eye in Morristown, New Jersey. They started training together when Lucca was just 4 months old, and the dog has been by his side for more than three years.
“Right now, I’m still devastated,” Coachman said. “That’s my boy, there. That’s my eyes. We could walk downtown together. We rode the New York (train) system together.”
Coachman said his faith in humanity has been shaken, and it’s not the first time. A couple years back, someone stole Lucca out of Coachman’s backyard. But the thief brought the dog back five days later after Coachman made a plea to TV media to either return the dog or take good care of it.
“We need humanity back, a little love now,” Coachman said. “People are so distracted by themselves that they can’t take time to help anyone, not just disabled people, anyone. People are not stopping and helping people because of fear. We’re living in some bad times; I can understand that. But it’s just devastating that nobody would stop and help me.”
Sarah and Jason Ross Decker are helping him now. The Midlothian couple met Coachman through volunteer work in Harvey within the last two years. Coachman tries to help homeless individuals with food, clothing, financial responsibility workshops and job training through an organization he calls CHESED. Jason Decker helped Coachman get clothes to a parking lot where he held the giveaway. Things clicked quickly between them.
“Basically he’s just a family friend at this point,” Jason Decker said. “We’ve tried to be supportive of each other.”
Coachman added, “He’s more than a friend; he’s a brother.”
Sarah Decker launched a GoFundMe page immediately after hearing what happened Monday. The original idea was to help pay for Lucca’s cremation and get Coachman on his way to another service dog, but the city disposed of the dog’s body with Coachman’s OK. Now the plan is for the money to be used at Coachman’s discretion. Much of it will likely go toward his charity, Decker said. Coachman wants to find another service dog if he can get the funding, but the costs associated with them are roughly $50,000, so he is not sure if that is feasible.
“Nobody deserves to have something like that happen to him, but he really doesn’t deserve what happened at all,” Sarah Decker said. “He does so much good for other people. He’s had so many hurdles in his way, and he still continues. It would be nice to see him get a new set of eyes.”
Jason Decker calls Coachman an inspiration for the charitable work he does, and he knew the family needed to help following Monday’s incident.
“He’s blind, but he does more for people than most people who can see, specifically in the city of Harvey, that needs a lot of help,” Decker said. “He’s an amazing person. It’s disbelief and it’s surreal to picture him getting hit by a car and his dog being killed.”
Coachman said if people get anything from his story, he hopes that it is “just be a little kinder.” And he would love to see people donate to homeless shelters in the area.
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Baumann said Tuesday afternoon he did not have any information about witnesses or surveillance images of the scene, but said police were still investigating. Police ask anyone with information to contact police through an anonymous tip line at 708-713-4899 or [email protected].
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.