Kentucky accident victim loved to ride motorcycles
Published 6:21 am Friday, July 9, 2021
Chase Hedger was doing what he loved most — riding a motorcycle — when he and Kaylene Castillo were killed in an accident early Wednesday morning.
The scene of the accident, which occurred on Cardwell Lane on a straight stretch of road with a 35 mph speed limit between Highwood Drive and Edgewood Drive at approximately 3:50 a.m., was less than ¾ mile from Hedger’s Evergreen Road residence.
According to dispatch reports, a caller reported that both victims were unresponsive in a ditch. The caller told dispatch that he did not see any tire tracks and would stay on scene until first responders arrived. A sheriff’s deputy, the first on the accident scene, requested the coroner at 4:08 a.m.
Franklin County Coroner Will Harrod pronounced Hedger, 37, and Castillo, 25, both of Franklin County, dead at the scene 37 minutes later.
“From a preliminary post mortem examination, it appears both victims died from injuries sustained from the crash,” Harrod said.
The coroner told The State Journal that neither victim was wearing a helmet. Autopsies and toxicology tests were scheduled Wednesday, but results will not be available for 12-14 weeks.
Cardwell Lane was closed for approximately an hour and reopened around 6:30 a.m., Frankfort Police reported.
Hedger, a Frankfort native who was employed at Centria as a material loader, is the son of Scott and Sheila Hedger and the father of Haylee and Kaiden Hedger.
In addition to his parents and daughters, Hedger is survived by a brother, Nathan Hedger, and maternal grandparents, Jim and Bea McGaughey, of Frankfort.
On his Facebook page, Hedger described his life.
“My kids are #1. I’m a hard worker. Try to be the best dad I know how to be,” he wrote. “I am a Scorpio, love hard.”
Funeral services for Hedger will be 1 p.m. Tuesday at Clark Legacy Center, Versailles Road. Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. Monday and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home prior to the service.
Castillo is from Winchester and attended Woodford County High School, according to her Facebook profile.
As of presstime, funeral services had not yet been scheduled for Castillo.