A Son … A Father 

Michael Layne Blanchard, known as Layne, worked fulltime as the executive chef at the Ridge Pointe Country Club in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The 27-year-old found great joy, according to his family, in the culinary arts. His immediate family — mother Kay Mabry Blanchard, sister Kelli, stepmother Donna and father Dr. Steven Michael “Mike” Blanchard — describe him as “a great kid, a sensitive person, who would never want to hurt anyone.” Kay said her son was full of energy … and always wanted five more minutes. So when he was young, they’d give him a five-minute notice, “so he could have five more minutes.”

A generally happy person, Layne had a beautiful voice and loved to sing. “Layne sang all the time, and I mean, all the time,” Kay said. “He’d burst out singing, and sometimes, it’d get on your nerves. It might be opera, or even Johnny Cash, which he did not sing well.”

He sang in his junior high and senior high choirs and in several productions, including “Shenandoah,” “Guys and Dolls”; and he had a lead in “Damn Yankees.” In fact, he, for a time, attended the University of Mississippi on a chorale scholarship. After a semester, he returned to Arkansas and enrolled at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he earned an associates of the arts degree. Initially, he studied business, but soon found the field didn’t interest him.

“Layne joined a fraternity, and he’d cook for them. He had a talent for grilling. He’d invent dishes,” Mike said. Kelli smiled and said, “He could even make Ramen noodles delicious.”

Having found his passion, Layne attended the Florida Culinary Institute in West Palm Beach. He graduated, moved back to Jonesboro and joined Judy and Jay Taggart at their business Judy ‘n’ Jay’s Catering and Deli; in November 2005, he purchased the business. “But he kept giving away his inventory,” the physician said of his son. “I saw him give away food, sometimes just so people could taste it.”

“He loved to feed his customers,” Kelli said. “He’d take food to customers who couldn’t make it into the restaurant.”

Layne later decided to close the business and joined the staff at the country club, where he enjoyed greater stability and better benefits.

Paul R. Davidson, 41, of Jonesboro was a family man. Though divorced, he maintained daily contact with his daughters Hilary, 22, and Mallory, 16, picking them up from school each day.

“Every Wednesday, we went out to eat and go bowling or walk around the mall … or whatever,” Hilary said. “I started driving, but he still picked Mallory up from school everyday.”

Paul loved sports and coached his daughters’ softball teams when they were younger. He also ran and was part owner of a Sonic Drive-In on Stadium Boulevard. He’d been there since the store opened in 1993. Mallory worked by her father’s side just as Hilary had when she was in high school.

In 2004, Paul began dating Laura McQuay. They met when Laura came to work at the Sonic. “Paul was an amazing person. He loved his kids. They were No. 1. He loved his grandmother and saw her everyday,” she said. In fact, Paul spent each Sunday night at his grandmother’s. Laura and Paul have a son together, Cameron, who is now 5, and Laura has an older daughter Gabbi. “Paul was the only father she knew. We [Paul and Laura] had been together five years, three months and 14 days,” she said. They were due to be married May 23, 2009.

A Tragic Accident 

July 14, 2008, Paul Davidson left work and dropped daughter Mallory off, Hilary said. According to a Nov. 1, 2008, story in the Jonesboro Sun, he worked out at the gym, a favorite pastime, and “went to [Matthew] Roberson’s house and trimmed his yard.” Matthew Roberson, a writer for the Jonesboro Sun, was a close friend of Paul’s. “When he was finished, Davidson got into his car and started home.”

According to Arkansas State Police Preliminary Fatal Crash Summary #305, he was traveling on Highway 1 south of Lawson Road in Jonesboro when a second vehicle traveling north on Highway 1 crossed the centerline and into the path of Davidson’s car. Davidson tried to avoid the car, but was struck on the right, front side and left the roadway. Davidson died at the scene of the crash. The driver of the car traveling north was Layne Blanchard. 

The report notes that Paul Davidson was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash. Layne Blanchard’s car overturned; however, he was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured.

Hilary had just finished working out, when she received a call from her mother, who was crying hysterically. “[Matthew Roberson] had called her. She wasn’t sure what was going on … only that there’d been an accident.” The family soon gathered and told Mallory that her father had passed away. “I’ll never forget her scream.”

Laura McQuay got a call about 20 minutes after the accident. Her brother later confirmed that the crash was fatal. “I just kept thinking ‘what am I going to do?’ Our lives were perfect to this point. I just couldn’t believe it.”

She sat with her parents and brother and told Gabbi and Cameron. “I said ‘Daddy was in a very bad car accident … we won’t be able to see him anymore.” She said she and Gabbi still cry at least once a day. “I don’t understand, but there must be some reason that God would take him, but the kids … Paul was a wonderful father, and he raised wonderful kids.” She and Hilary try to keep Paul’s memory alive for Cameron. “He was such a daddy’s boy.”

Hilary said, “He’s so young. I don’t want him to forget Dad.” She tries to see Cameron as much as possible. “It would just kill my dad for us not to be together.”

The two women were astonished by the number of people who came to honor Paul at his funeral. “I had no idea how many people Paul had touched,” Laura said of her fiancÉe. The service started at 4:30 p.m., she said, and didn’t end until almost 11 p.m.

Trying to Cope

“Layne said he was sending a text [at the time of the accident]. He said he got to the curve, and when he looked up, he tried to avoid hitting Mr. Davidson’s car, and his vehicle turned over on its side. He got out and tried to go see about the other driver, but passersby stopped him,” Mike Blanchard said. “He admitted to the officer at the scene that he was texting.”

Kay said of her son, echoing her ex-husband’s words, “Layne took full responsibility for the accident — at the scene. He was honest and acted like a man.”

Layne was taken to the hospital, but he didn’t want medical attention. Officials administered a toxicology test, and determined that alcohol was not a factor in the accident. Paul Davidson’s death weighed heavily on Layne, and according to his parents, Layne questioned why his life had been spared. He just kept asking: “why wasn’t it me?”

“Layne became depressed immediately after the accident,” Kelli said.

Kay said her son stayed with her in the days following the accident. “I didn’t want him to be by himself. He was so upset. He just kept saying, ‘Why did I live and the other gentleman didn’t?’ For days, he wouldn’t go outside. He wouldn’t even go to the mailbox, because he was so embarrassed and ashamed.”

“He just wasn’t the same. There was no spark in his eyes,” Donna said. “He stopped singing.”

Layne underwent trauma counseling and seemed to get better. “But not really … Layne wanted everyone else to be happy. He didn’t want us to worry about him. He would say ‘I’m getting better,’” Kelli said.

It was late November, five months after the accident, and it soon became obvious … Layne wasn’t getting better. “He didn’t want to go to work. He didn’t want to leave the house. I kept telling him, ‘Layne, it was an accident.’ He was losing weight like crazy. He wasn’t sleeping. He didn’t laugh … I was worried. I took him to get some psychiatric help. He went through counseling, and, for a while, he gained a bit of weight, and his attitude seemed to get better. But then, more articles came out,” Mike said, referring to the Jonesboro Sun. The articles seemed to cause Layne to sink deeper into depression. The entire Blanchard family gathered around Layne, trying to shield him. “We tried to keep him busy,” Kelli said.

“I tried to keep him with me as much as possible,” Mike said, choking up. “I even had him moving things from one storage room to another.”

Taking Action 

Paul Davidson’s family continued to mourn. Then Hilary decided to take action. “I had the idea to initiate the law in August or September. I researched how to [approach the legislature] and talked to Uncle Matt [Roberson] about it. I met with our representative Ray Kidd at the Jonesboro Sun offices. He took it to Little Rock to officially draw up the bill,” she said.

A Nov. 1, 2008, Sun article, titled “Driving While Texting Sparks Debate in State,” told of Hilary’s efforts to get a law passed. Kidd, state representative for District 76, drew up the bill for Paul’s Law on Dec. 3, 2008, according to a news story aired on KAIT-TV in Jonesboro.

Knowing his son was “devastated” by Davidson’s death, and that he was sinking emotionally, Mike Blanchard made an appeal to the Jonesboro Sun. “I called the editor of the Jonesboro Sun and asked them not to publish Layne’s name anymore. I told him that we supported the texting law. I just wanted them to leave Layne name out of the articles … the point was made, and the legislation was in progress.”

“This was a loss for us as well, ” Kelli said. “ Layne made a mistake …”

“A tragic mistake,” her father stressed. “Yes,” Kelli said, agreeing, “a tragic mistake. But it was an accident. A mistake. Anyone who knew Layne knows that he would never harm anyone. It was a mistake.”

Adding to Layne’s distress was that no one asked him how he felt; none of the articles included quotes from Layne or any member of the Blanchard family. “Layne said ‘I would tell them that I was wrong [to text and drive], and that if I could take it back, I would,’” Kay said.

Life Lost and Gained 

On Dec. 4, Layne Blanchard was charged with negligent homicide.

“Layne wasn’t worried about [the legal penalty he faced], he was broken hearted because someone died as a result of a mistake he’d made,” Kelli said.

On Dec. 8, Michael Layne Blanchard, 27, four months and three weeks after the tragic accident, shot himself. He died the next day. Even as the Blanchards mourned Layne, he performed an act of selflessness. Unbeknownst to them, he had signed up to be an organ donor. According to Mid-America Transplant Services, Layne’s heart, lungs, liver and both kidneys were given to several critically-ill patients. His donation of bone and skin tissue, corneas and femoral veins will help up to 50 patients, according to the organization.

While he didn’t know that Layne had registered to be a donor, Mike, an emergency room doctor, wasn’t surprised. “Layne wanted to go from being a heel to a hero, but he was always a hero … he just didn’t know it.”

“Even in death he found a way to help others,” Kelli said.

Tearful Testimony

This March, Rep. Kidd presented Paul’s Law to the House. “The bill was not drawn up to be punitive, though there is a fine of up to $100. The intent is to prevent serious accidents,” Kidd said.

Hilary Davidson, Paul’s oldest daughter, testified before the Arkansas Senate Transportation Committee, as did Layne’s grief-stricken father.

“Dr. Blanchard testified and told of the effect [the accident] had on his family. He said he believes that his son would have supported the bill. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place,” Kidd said.

Paul’s Law, Act 181, became effective Oct. 1 and prohibits drivers of motor vehicles from texting while driving. Act 197 bans the use of cell phones by drivers under 18, as well as drivers ages 18 to 20 from using a cell phone while driving unless they use a hands-free device.

“Some people have asked how we plan to enforce it, but the fact is 45 to 50 percent of people will obey this law simply because it is law. Others won’t text as often,” Kidd said.

Several other states have enacted laws prohibiting texting while driving, and Pres. Obama issued an executive order Oct. 1 banning all federal employees from texting while driving government vehicles.

Arkansas law requires that all front-seat passengers wear a seat belt, and Act 308 of 2009 allows law enforcement to stop a vehicle for the sole purpose of ticketing the driver for failure to wear a seat belt.

These two laws address, though too late, a tearful Mike Blanchard’s wish: 

“I just wish this had not happened. I wish Layne hadn’t been texting. And I wish Mr. Davidson had been wearing his seatbelt. I just wish this had not happened.”

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