Carmel father donates son's organs following fatal accident

A young couple is dead after being hit by an SUV Tuesday night. Days later, one of the families would make the tough decision to take their son off life support, but doing so, they said it would change eight or nine lives forever.

"The pain and the emotion, it comes and goes in waves," said Don Uhrin, 21-year-old Jason Uhrin's father.

Uhrin said he is in shock Thursday night after his only son was hit while crossing East 82nd Street, just west of Allisonville Road on Tuesday night.

Jason Uhrin's fiancé, 19-year-old Sydney Campbell, was also struck. The high school sweet hearts suffered major injuries and neither one survived, despite multiple attempts by doctors at St. Vincent Hospital.


"While our family didn't get the miracle of Jason being back with us, he's going to give the miracle of life to eight or nine people," said Uhrin.

He called the accident bittersweet because amidst the pain, he is proud of his son who did not think twice when he got his driver's license and became an organ donor.

"One of the things that strike me about my son is he seemed to always think of other people first," he said.

Jason Uhrin's former classmates at Carmel High School agree.

They knew Jason Uhrin and Sydney Campbell as a pair then, as two people who shared a love for each other and music.

"You foresaw them getting married,” said Nic Powell, Uhrin's former classmate and member of the drum line. “You know, having a long life."

Another classmate, Bailey Cook, described Campbell as one of the best friends she has ever had. She also said news of the accident has also been tough for her to process as well.

"It's hard to accept that she's not going to be around anymore," said Cook.

The young couple had talked about moving to Colorado one day.

Uhrin said his son, while he had a challenging life and got knocked down a few times, always managed to get back up until Tuesday night. It was a night that changed their lives forever.
He now asks that other people make what he calls a simple but forever rewarding choice.
"Take a look at their driver's license, see if they have the little red heart. Jason did, and it speaks an awful lot for him," said Uhrin.

One day, he said he would like to meet the people who will receive his son's organs through the Indiana Organ Procurement Organization.