Motorcycle accident cuts young life short

MILLERTON — Friends and family were in a state of shock and sadness following a motorcycle accident that left 23-year-old Kristopher James Cuddeback on life support as of Tuesday, May 5, when this paper went to press. Cuddeback, born on June 27, 1991, was thrown head first into a fence during a motorcycle accident on April 28 in Millerton. He was on an afternoon ride with his brother, Kyle Cuddeback, on separate motorcycles on Winchell Mountain Road. It was a very windy day. Cuddeback was wearing a helmut but it shattered under the impact of the crash.

“I would not be impartial toward motorcycles, but if there’s one message to share I want everybody to know the risk when they get on a bike … Your life can change in an instant, and not just you but the people around you,” said Cuddeback’s former sister-in-law Lori Placentino, who has known him since he was a boy of 2. “Kris was basically my little brother — he was no different.

“He was just the sweetest little boy, and as much as he was a grown man, in my eyes he’ll always be that sweet little boy,” she added. “He has always been very kind, very thoughtful, very giving.”

Cuddeback leaves behind parents Edie and Thomas Cuddeback as well as siblings Kyle Cuddeback and Kevin, Anthony and Michelle Placentino.

According to a narrative shared by Kevin Placentino on GoFundMe, Cuddeback was on life support after being flown to Albany Medical Center. He had suffered major head trauma and numerous broken bones, “and on May 3 we received the dreadful news that Kris will never awake from his sleep. In a split second, Kris was taken away from us. The world lost a great man that day — a son, a  brother, a fiancé, a friend.”

The family was keeping Cuddeback, an organ donor, on life support until his organs could be harvested. Once done, they planned to take him off life support and let nature take its course.

“There was no hope for recovery or for him to breathe on his own,” said Lori Placentino. “As an organ donor he’ll have a huge impact. An estimated 200 people or more will benefit from Chris’s wish. Anybody who hasn’t thought about doing it should. It’s tremendous.”

Cuddeback, a Stissing Mountain High School and Columbia Greene Community College graduate, was only recently hired by the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office. He had worked for the Pine Plains Police Department, the Millerton Police Department, the Rhinebeck Police Department and the Coeymans Police Department.

He was engaged to be married to high school sweetheart Jessica Farkas; they had just bought a house together in Millerton and were working on remodeling it.

“He wanted to provide a home for his future family,” wrote Kevin Placentino. “He was living the American Dream and everything was aligning, everything was perfect — until that fateful day when tragedy struck unexpectedly.”

“Jessica’s dreams are shattered, the dreams they were building together,” said Lori Placentino. “I look at all the love and support that Kristopher had and we should never take it for granted. Be there for people when they need you and know that they will be there in turn.”

Now Kevin Placentino is spearheading a campaign on GoFundMe to finish building the home his brother and his brother’s fiancé began.

“Let’s build these walls together and stand united — we have strength in numbers,” he wrote. “Kris spent his life helping others and risking his life on a daily basis for the betterment of society. Now it’s time we give back.”

The goal is to raise $50,000. To make a donation go to www.gofundme.com/tm4v4r4v.

“That’s our goal, to complete and finish the house,” said Lori Placentino. “We don’t want Jessica to have to sell the house.”

To help complete the Cape Cod home family members are volunteering their time to finish the work Cuddeback began. It’s the least they can do, the Placentinos said, in honor of the young man everyone loved so much.