ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A family who was told their son had died in a car crash went to break the news to their son’s girlfriend but were shocked in the best way possible when their reportedly dead son opened the door.
The Alaska Dispatch News reports Jay and Karen Priest received a visit from an Alaska State Trooper around 3 a.m. Thursday, and that trooper told them he was sorry, but their son had been killed the night before in a car crash in Juneau.
ADN reports the family thought it was unusual for their son to have traveled to Juneau, but when they called police in that area the identification was confirmed.
The family drove to Anchorage, first to pick up their other son, Cody, and then to go to Justin’s house to break the news to their son’s girlfriend.
At about 5:30 a.m., Justin Priest, 29, answered the door, reportedly to hear his father say, “Justin? It’s Justin! Praise Jesus, we thought you were dead.”
It turns out the victim in the car crash had the same name but a different age, birth date and middle name than Jay and Karen’s son.
Police officials apologized to the family. Click here for their comments and much more on this story from the Alaska Dispatch News.
