The victim’s own father now charged with intoxication manslaughter.
SAN ANTONIO — What was supposed to be a night of family fun has left a local family in mourning and a father facing legal consequences.
Family members say 19-year-old Blake Cody West died doing what he loved.
“My son loved to work on cars and buy them and sell them and make profit off of them,” said Blake’s mother, Jodi Lyn Lindsey. “He loved the challenge and he loved 4-wheelers and go-karts.”
Lindsey said it was common for the big brother to always make sure to include family.
“He had his younger siblings. He was like ‘Bring them over let’s go!’,” Lindsey said. “They’ve been attending that country club for about five or six years and everybody loved it. The kids would come home soaked in mud, missing shoes.”
Sunday evening, Blake and other family members were at an off-road park on Highway 281 in South Bexar County and they were “mudding” or enjoying a course in Blake’s father’s F-250 truck.
Lindsey said Blake’s father was at the wheel and other family members were along for the ride.
“I have four children and three of them were there and my son’s wife was there as well,” Lindsey said.
A report from Bexar County Sheriff’s investigators said the truck went over several bumps, causing Blake to bounce out of the bed of the truck, where he was run over and killed.
The incident was caught on camera by several bystanders, according to the report.
Lindsey said her greatest comfort is that in his time of need, her son was surrounded by love and was with his wife, D’leijah, until the end.
“She was able to be there holding his hand until the very end, which a mother’s dream is that their child never goes alone and her being there was the biggest help for me, that he felt her love to the very end and that’s why they are an amazing couple,” Lindsey said.
The report said bystanders provided immediate aid to save the young father of an infant daughter, but he was pronounced deceased.
Speaking through tears, Lindsey said her hard-working son would want to be remembered for the way he lived, working hard but playing hard as well.
She said he died like he lived, surrounded by family engaged in a shared activity that brought them joy.
Lindsey said Blake had worked hard to buy his young family a home of their own and as a couple they did remodeling work themselves.
“He was busting his butt. He didn’t want his wife to have to struggle. He made sure she could stay home with the baby and our grandbaby has never seen a daycare. It’s just family that watches her,” Lindsey said of her son’s efforts.
Lindsey said she had a life insurance policy on her son but it expired when he turned 18 and so she has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with expenses and care for the needs of the wife and child he leaves behind.
After the incident, one heartache led to another as Blake’s father was arrested and charged with intoxication manslaughter.
The preliminary report indicates 46-year-old Jack Cody West admitted to investigators that he had been drinking prior to the incident.
The report states West refused to submit to field sobriety tests and that deputies noted the smell of alcohol and said West had slurred speech.
The report goes on to detail how investigators obtained a blood warrant due to West’s refusal to submit to a field sobriety test.
Jack Cody West remains in the Bexar County Jail under a bond of $125,000. If he is able to make bail, a judge has also established the following special conditions, including full house arrest with a GPS monitor, an ignition interlock for his vehicle and prohibitions against using alcohol or possessing firearms.
Lindsey said she would much rather everyone focus on her son’s giving spirit.
“My son is an adult. He knew what he was doing. He made his choice to be there and he was enjoying every minute of it. It was a true accident. It was nobody’s fault. Nobody did anything intentionally,” she said.
She said the reaction of friends and family who have been a part of their lives for years, has been of great comfort.
“Every last person that was involved rushed over to him because they’ve known him for years,” Lindsey said. “Everybody treated him like family and they all worked very hard to save my son and did everything they could and just to know that many people tried to help him? That’s what means the most to us.”