Kevin Deiss, Young Electrician Who Spent His Last Day Celebrating, 22, Washington Post
DGH
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/26/AR2009092602467.html
A LOCAL LIFE: KEVIN DEISS, 22
Young Electrician Spent His Last Day Celebrating
By Yamiche Alcindor, Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Kevin Deiss spent the day before his death on a Sunday in March [March 14,
2009] earning some extra cash and celebrating the upcoming St. Patrick's
Day.
Mr. Deiss was 22 and in the electrical apprentice program at the Defense
Intelligence Agency. He spent much of that Saturday doing electrical work at
a restaurant near his home in Columbia.
He wrapped up in time to go home and relax before meeting friends about 5:30
p.m. at the National ShamrockFest held at RFK Stadium.
Once at home, where he lived with his parents, he showered and put on a pair
of jeans, a nice shirt, black shoes and his favorite coat -- a dark blue
Navy peacoat that had been a gift from his brother James, a career Navy man.
That afternoon, Mr. Deiss kicked around the idea of trading in his
Harley-Davidson motorcycle for another bike. He played virtual poker and
chatted over the computer with another brother, Brian. He and Brian, who
often passed for twins despite the decade separating them in age, went
bowling every Wednesday at nearby Brunswick Columbia Lanes.
Before leaving his parents' home, Mr. Deiss kissed his mother goodbye, told
her he loved her, drove his car to the Glenmont Metro station and boarded a
train into the city. He always had an independent streak, his family said,
and as a 5-year-old had staked out a closet in his family's home so he could
have a room of his own. He moved into the small space for a short time.
Mr. Deiss was a 2004 graduate of the private Heights School in Potomac and
attended the University of Dallas before leaving to work as a carpenter and
then an electrician. He taught himself to do everything from remodel
basements to tile floors, telling his friends that he was better with his
hands than with books.
When Mr. Deiss arrived at the National ShamrockFest on March 14 [2009], he
paid no attention to the misty weather and went about socializing. "He was
always the life of the party," said his friend John Tocci, who accompanied
Mr. Deiss that night.
Later that evening, the group took the Metro to Falls Church to continue
their celebrating at a friend's house. There, they ordered pizza and resumed
drinking. Mr. Deiss was talkative throughout the night.
"He was drunk, but he wasn't stumbling around," Tocci said. "But I was happy
he was being safe and taking the train."
About 1:30 a.m., Mr. Deiss decided that he wanted to go home. He waved
goodbye to Tocci, saying, "I'll see you around."
Mr. Deiss left a message for his sister Kate telling her that he was going
home. He said he planned to connect to a Red Line train and get to a
Maryland station where his sister Elizabeth would pick him up.
When he didn't call, his family didn't worry.
"Kids always change their minds," his mother, Mary, recalled thinking.
Before the family could begin to worry, Metro Transit Police officials
knocked on the door with the news of his death.
Minutes after Mr. Deiss had walked from the friend's house to the East Falls
Church Metro station, he tripped onto the tracks and was knocked
unconscious. He was in the path of an oncoming train. A frantic witness
raced to get help from the station manager working that night, but it was
too late, the Deiss family said. He died at 1:44 a.m. March 15.
A spokeswoman from the Northern Virginia District Medical Examiner said the
cause of Mr. Deiss's death was blunt trauma to his neck, head, chest and
abdomen. The death was ruled an accident, she said.
Brian Deiss, who also works as an electrician at the Defense Intelligence
Agency, has some peace of mind about his brother's death. Kevin Deiss always
insisted that the two recite the Catholic rosary on their way to work every
day. "He always said, 'You don't know what's going to happen, so you have to
be ready.'"