The husband of the sports reporter whotragically died in a Lousiana plane crashon Saturday is opening up about the anguish he is currently experiencing after missing his wife’s final messages.
Steven Ensminger Jr. toldSports IllustratedthatCarley McCordtexted and called him that morning before the fatal flight but explained that he could not answer either message because he was at work.
Those messages would end up being McCord’s last as the WDSU sports reporter, 30, was one of five victims who were killed in the crash near the Lafayette Regional Airport.
“I don’t have my phone and she sends me a message saying she loved me,”recalled Ensminger Jr.,the son of Steve Ensminger, who is the offensive coordinator for the Louisiana State University football team. “I was in and out of a nightmare, not being able to tell what was real and what wasn’t.”
The loss was so traumatic for Ensminger Jr., 30, who works as a chemical operator at a Lousiana nitrogen facility, that his family members rushed him to the hospital, where he was given sedatives to cope with his physical and emotional heartbreak.
“I can remember laying in the hospital bed repeating myself saying it wasn’t real and then one of the hardest things I’m dealing with is that I missed her text and I missed her call,” he toldSports Illustrated,adding that he would have driven McCord to the game in Atlanta but he was unable to get off of work.
Carley McCord/Instagram
“These words are the hardest words I’ve ever had to speak. She will always be part of my life. I’m torn and struggling but I knew she would tell me to be strong,” he added. “I love her. I miss her so much it hurts. I wish she was here with me.”
While he was in the hospital, Ensminger Jr. said he spoke on the phone with his dad, who offered some words of support and love to his son before LSU beat Oklahoma in the college football playoff game, 63-28.
“The one voice that got on the phone with me that was clear and strong and supportive and confident while I was laying in that bed was my dad right before he walked out for warm-ups,” he recalled. “I could barely speak.”
“I couldn’t hold myself together and he said, ‘Son, you will get through this, it’s what we do. We face the darkest times in our lives and it’s what we do, we get through it. And I will take care of you and I’ll be there for you to keep you strong. You’re my one and only son, and my namesake and I love you and I can promise you we will get through this,’ ” he added.
On Saturday, McCord’s employer, WDSU, confirmed the news of her death in a statement. “It is with broken hearts that we share that WDSU lost a beloved member of our team today. Our hearts are with the McCord and Ensminger families at this time,” the news outletwroteon Twitter.
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The New Orleans Saints and the New Orleans Pelicans, two teams McCord had worked for as an in-game host, alsoissued a joint statement, praising her for her “utmost professionalism.”
“So sad to hear the news about Carley McCord she was always very excited and happy,” Thomaswrote. “The worst part is I saw her reporting yesterday as I was leaving home in the parking lot. Really sad, life is so short really wish I could do something.”
McCord was born and raised in Baton Rouge, and was a graduate of Northwestern State University and Louisiana State University, according to WDSU. She was also thefirst runner-up in the Miss Louisiana competitionin both 2011 and 2012 andauditioned forThe Bachelorin 2013, reported theNew YorkTimes.
A spokesperson for the Lafayette Fire Department previously told PEOPLE that the plane was taking off from the airport, on its way to Atlanta, when it crashed around 9:20 a.m. on Saturday morning.
As theAdvocatenoted, many of the victims had ties to local family-owned technology companyGlobal Data Systems.
source: people.com
