Wodehouse is visiting north Alabama this week, traveling between Birmingham, Anniston and Heflin to revisit the final hours of his son's life."This feels better," Wodehouse said. "This feels good to be able to come here."
Jordan Wodehouse and Paul Langlois were killed in the crash. Their deaths sent shock waves through the Edmonton music scene and forever changed the lives of an extended family of fans and friends.
The days following the accident saw an outpouring of grief in Edmonton as well as on fan Internet sites. For the elder Wodehouse, a crucial step in the grieving process was visiting both the site of the accident and the local community that was so supportive of his son's dream.
Fateful day
In the early morning hours of June 13, Jordan Wodehouse was on top of the world.
Just a few hours earlier, his band had shared the stage with the band, "7Angels7Plagues," and now it was on its way to Atlanta for a second show.
Leaving a Birmingham deli, the band headed for Atlanta. They got as far as Cleburne County, but around 2 a.m. their van was struck from behind by a 1994 Nissan Pathfinder driven by Ricky Earl Nolen, 27, of Heflin.
Both vehicles swerved into the median after the collision, according to a state trooper report. The van struck a tree, and all five occupants were ejected.
Jordan Wodehouse died on impact. Paul Langlois was taken to Regional Medical Center, then airlifted to University Hospitals in Birmingham, where he died.
Other band members Jesse Zaraska, Braden Russell Sustrik and Ryan Darrel Kittlitz were treated at Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center and were able to return home.
For Paul Wodehouse, a photojournalist, the need to personally see the site of the event was compelling.
"On the morning of June 13, my life changed forever," Wodehouse said. "It was four days after I found out that my son had been killed before I was able to see his body. At that point, I found a new strength, and coming here today has helped give me strength. It isn't closure so much. Jordy was asleep when he died, and I know he is in a better place. But it helps me to come here, to feel and see the last place he was alive."
A pilgrimage
According to Wodehouse, the desire to make the trip to Alabama grew in him during the days after the funeral, a memorial service that drew more than 800 people.
He says that he has spent the weeks since the accident communing with dozens of young people who knew his son or had been touched by the band's music. He is working through and responding to the more than 300 e-mails he has received.
Through talks with the surviving band members, he learned about the hours before and after the crash, and said he was touched by the amount of care and the hospitality displayed by people in Alabama.
Those stories, coupled with his own need to see things firsthand, are what he says fueled his desire to make the trip.
"I wanted people here to know how much it has meant, the way they took care of these guys and went out of their way to help them after the accident," said Wodehouse, citing specific names of people, from nurses to state troopers to paramedics, who he says went above and beyond the call to assist three strangers, stranded in a foreign land.
"I wanted to retrace every stop he made on this trip, but there was something about Birmingham and Alabama that drew me here.
"At the show in Birmingham, he was living his dream and was playing with his idol band. This was like winning the Stanley Cup for him. One of the guys told me that at that show he was so happy, they didn't recognize him."
Wodehouse said he mentioned taking such a trip a few times, and the next day he received a phone call from an anonymous person who had set up the trip through a travel agent.
He arrived in Birmingham late Tuesday. After meeting with Birmingham attorney Bill Wood Wednesday to discuss the accident, he traveled to Heflin to visit the crash site. Wodehouse says he hopes to spend the day today meeting with promoters of the Birmingham show before visiting Anniston Friday to personally thank hospital and EMT staff.
When he arrived at the crash site, he found yellow police tape on the ground around the tree where the van crashed. Directly in front of the tree is a wreath bearing a treble clef and the date of the accident, as well as a flyer from one of the band's shows.
Debris from the van litters the scene. Shattered CDs and a few loose guitar picks are evidence of the van's occupants.
After spending a private moment, Wodehouse took out a small container of his son's ashes and spread them at the scene. He says he received some of the ashes, and Jordan's mother received the rest.
Moving on
While Wodehouse's visit to Alabama helped him gain a measure of closure in his personal grieving process, he says he hopes that by making his trip public, he can help some of the fans and friends of the band do the same.
The weeks since the accident have apparently brought an outcry from people seeking to place blame for the deaths.
State troopers say the investigation of the accident is stalled by lack of a toxicology report on the drivers of the two vehicles from the state forensics department. The report has been delayed by cuts in the forensics department budget.
Meantime, Wodehouse says the "war of words" about the accident needs to be put to rest.
"All this that they are writing on the Internet about is going to be taken care of by the legal system," Wodehouse said.
"I understand kids are angry. I understand they are hurt. But we all have to stay calm, and in staying calm we can get through this and come to terms with what has happened."
