LUMBERTON, MS (WLOX) - A Mississippi family has mixed feelings of mourning and pride after a man saved a child's life, but tragically lost his own.
Bradley Christensen, 24, of Tupelo, MS was crushed and killed by a tractor while trying to get his 3-year-old daughter out of harm's way, according to Pearl River County Coroner Derek Turnage.
"If Bubba didn't do anything else right, he always took care of his kids," said James Christensen, Bradley's older brother.
On June 23 in Lumberton, MS, Bradley was outside talking to his landlord while his kids played outside on that Saturday afternoon. Somehow, the toddler managed to climb onto a tractor parked outside. Chief Shane Tucker noted that the toddler turned on the tractor with the push of a button.
The tractor then began to roll with the toddler still on top. It was headed toward landlord's porch when Bradley rushed to take her down.
"He ran and grabbed my granddaughter off the tractor and then it sucked him underneath," said his fiance's mother, Louise Gooden. "Then it hit the porch. It had him pinned underneath and the wheel kept spinning and crushed him."
Law enforcement and AMR arrived on scene to assess the situation and remove him from under the tractor. First responders performed life saving measures and Christensen was airlifted to Stone County Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Bradley was engaged to Ashley Gerald, who was asleep inside at the time of the accident. "Through anything in life, he was my strength. Things were just getting right," she said, still in disbelief.
Bradley and Ashley raised five children together as a blended family. "Three of my children were not his, but he cared so much for my kids that you'd never be able to tell. He was the best dad I've ever met in my life. He stepped in when their dad wouldn't," Ashley mentioned proudly.
She remembers her fiance as the kind of father who would consistently go above and beyond for his children. "Since I was working so much, many times he was Mr. Mommy and Mr. Dad 'cause he was always with them. Anywhere he was, they were. They would walk around like little ducklings behind him," she recalled.
The couple suffered a devastating loss after their 3-month-old baby died in December 2017.
"When I lost my daughter in December, he's the one who performed CPR on her for 35 minutes until the paramedics came," said Ashley. "He always did say he'd die behind his kids if it came down to it. After we heard the news, my momma said, 'He didn't get to save the first one, so he made damn sure to save this one.'"
"We all had our dark days and he'd just gotten out of his. He was really trying to get out of that rut, but what really saved him was his kids." said James.
Though the process of grief is only beginning, his family remembers Bradley with a great sense of honor. James added, "The way my brother went out, he went out a hero. He gave his life for his daughter. That just shows how much being a father meant to him."
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