WATCH ABOVE: A Calgary man, who lost his wife at the hands of a drunk driver, has used the tragedy to inspire a journey to fulfill a lifelong dream. Global’s Nancy Hixt reports.
CALGARY- Seven years after his wife was killed by a drunk driver, Kevin Davey, a star of the AMC series Hell on Wheels, says he is now living life to the fullest after some emotional and difficult years of recovery.
In April 2008, Davey’s wife Linda was out for a walk with their two children in the Calgary community of Bridlewood, when a drunk driver jumped the curb and plowed into them. Linda died at the scene. Her 15-year-old son Josh, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, was critically injured.
“In that instant, mine and my son and my daughter’s lives changed instantly,” says Davey. “We came to realize it was better to have valued the time we had Linda in our lives rather than be bitter that she had been taken from us.”
The actor decided to honour the memory of his wife by taking a leap of faith and pursuing his dream of becoming an actor. He eventually won the role of Paddy Quinn on Hell on Wheels.
Davey says when he first auditioned for the role, he was supposed to be a throwaway character.
“I was supposed to do one scene with one line in one episode and that was it – you wouldn’t see me again. They actually ended up writing me in as a recurring character and my supposed one episode has spanned three seasons and I’m still actually filming the show now.”
WATCH: Calgary man uses tragedy to motivate his journey to a lifelong goal
Among Davey’s biggest fans are his kids.
“It’s sort of surreal,” says Josh Davey, who is now 22. “He’s still my dad but on the other side of it, it’s like, ‘oh my God, he’s on TV and people watch him.’”
“He’s my dad and I’m proud of him whatever he does, but he’s following his dreams, like ‘wow’.”
Kevin Davey says he misses his wife every day, but is inspired to live a life that would make her proud.
“What would my loved one want? Well, she would want me to live a fulfilling, happy life. She would not want me to mourn forever; she would not want me to cry every night for the rest of my life.”
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