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'They Opened Their Home To The Hardest Kids We Had'
May 31, 2005
MARYSVILLE - A family was just miles from home running errands, when they were killed in a crash Monday afternoon.
The tragic accident happened on I-5 near Marysville.
When Daryl and Sandra Knapp died, dozens of children lost their parents.
All we knew on Monday was that a pickup pulling a fifth-wheel trailer wheeled out of control, crossed the center line and crashed into several cars. When it stopped, five people were hurt, and three were dead -- Daryl, Sandra, and their 6-year-old foster son Noah.
"Daryl and Sandra, they were real compassionate people," says Pastor Rick Long.
Long is the couple's pastor and friend. He knows the rest of their story.
"The children that they have, most are adoptive children," says Long.
Left behind is the rest of the Knapp family -- five children suddenly orphaned, ages 12 to 23. All but one of them is adopted.
"They were family who always gave one thousand percent to our foster kids," says Darby Baldwin, Bethany Christian Services Special Needs Adoption Coordinator.
Over the last 12 years -- 39 children have called Sandra and Daryl Knapp their foster parents.
Many of them were placed through Shoreline's Bethany Christian Services.
"They opened their home to the hardest kids that we had; they were willing to do the hard piece; the behaviors that not everybody would take," Baldwin said. "Working in this system I know that is rare."
"These people definitely have a heart of gold and they're definitely going to a good place, no doubt about it," says neighbor Kelly Kellner.
Five other people were hospitalized in the crash. The driver of the pick-up that triggered the accident had minor injuries. Investigators are still looking into the cause of the accident.
For More Information:
May. 30, 2005 -- Family Of Three Killed In I-5 Crash Near Marysville