MAPLECREST - The tie that binds is having to even more closely enfold the family of Pastor Ryan and Alisa Dempsey with the unfathomably sudden loss of their son.

Twelve-year-old Levi Dempsey was killed on July 31 when the utility terrain vehicle he was riding on turned over on a gravel driveway adjacent to his home in Maplecrest, a serene hamlet within the town of Windham.

His younger brother, ten-year old Cade Dempsey another passenger on the UTV, was seriously injured. Both youths were airlifted to Albany Medical Center where Cade stays, following surgery.

An older brother, 14, and neighbor boy, 11 years old and a best bud of Levi, sustained minor injuries and were treated by emergency medical workers at the scene, a few doors up from Living Faith Community Church.

Pastor Dempsey’s congregation at the Mitchell Hollow Mission Church swiftly set up an everloved.com fundraising site, stating, “this family is much more than a pastor’s family; 

“They are an integral part of our community. They have faithfully loved, prayed for and walked alongside others through life’s hardest moments and now it is our turn to come alongside them,” the page states.

“As they navigate overwhelming grief and spend countless days at Cade’s side…we hope to ease some of the financial burdens they face.

“These funds will help assist in funeral and medical expenses, traveling to and from the hospital, housing, meals, and many unexpected costs that will arise in the weeks and months ahead,” the page states.

The response has been powerful as waves of emotional ache and deep questioning about the mysterious ways of life sweep over the town.

Everything reportedly happened in ungraspable moments. The four youths were reportedly swimming nearby when Pastor Dempsey, with them, told his three sons and their pal to head home, preparing for a shopping trip.

They began traveling down the familiar, long driveway that services multiple houses when police say the UTV caught in the gravel, veered to the left and hit a boulder, rolling onto the passenger side.

Pastor Dempsey and a neighbor, still within easy earshot, heard the sounds and flew to the spot where the neighbor reportedly used a truck to return the UTV right side up.

Folks in the vicinity very soon thereafter became aware of police cars ambulances and firetrucks rushing in, followed by two helicopters.

A fence was taken down in a cow pasture along the driveway, allowing the first helicopter to land on a makeshift, grassy pad.

The second chopper settled in more spacious C.D. Lane Park, a mile or so further up the country lane that serves as the main road thru Maplecrest.

Pastor Dempsey shepherds the Mitchell Hollow Mission Church, located on the opposite end of Windham where, four years ago, he presided over services for a 13-year-old girl who died in an ATV accident.

The girl’s father is an elder at Mitchell Hollow Mission Church, standing in for Pastor Dempsey at Sunday services, this past weekend, while Pastor Dempsey and Alisa were bedside with Cade.

The two families, living two miles apart, are bound by sacred ties. Mrs. Dempsey grew up a Vining, a family as solidly rooted in Windham as Windham is in the surrounding mountains.

“I know the Word,” said one resident, a member of a different Windham congregation. “But I can’t help asking, ‘why, why, why, why?’”

Levi, a recent little league baseball all-star player, and Cade are two of six Dempsey children. The accident happened in the mid-evening in the aftermath of two days of hard rains that caused some flooding.

A scheduled August 7 concert at C.D. Lane Park will go on. Windham Hose Company No. 1, where Pastor Dempsey serves as an assistant chief, will be cooking hotdogs, hamburgers etc. All proceeds will benefit the family.