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“God is providing for us”


Stephanie Broughton continues to finish constructing the home her husband Aaron began before a tragic accident claimed his life on the property. —submitted photos

“The night of the accident I thought there was no way I could ever live there. I didn’t think I could ever handle going back there. Two nights later, I woke up in the middle of the night and something said Stephanie you have to finish this house and live there,” said Stephanie Broughton.

Stephanie and Aaron.

September 7 was a chilly, rainy day and Aaron Broughton, 33, was on a mission to get trenches dug for water lines to the home he was constructing for his family in rural Hewitt. A friend loaned his dad, Lyle, an excavator for the weekend and with the help of his father they were going to get it done, despite the weather. Stephanie, 31, was out for a walk with their two children, Ladd, 1, and Sylvie who turned four in January, when the incident happened. “As I was walking back, I heard Lyle yelling and ran to the end of the driveway,” she said. Stephanie said there was a mound of dirt blocking the site so the kids couldn’t see anything. Aaron was laying the lines in the trench while Lyle was holding the bucket over him to protect him from the unstable wet sides of the trench. The lines were in and Aaron jumped onto the excavator bucket. He slipped off the excavator and hit his head, presumably on the shovel he was using, killing him instantly. “Aaron would always tell me he was ready (to go if something were to happen). He was okay because he had been saved. He said the only thing he didn’t want was to suffer. He was gone in an instant and I am thankful for that,” explained Stephanie. Lyle pulled Aaron out of the trench and Stephanie sought the help of neighbors Rebekah and Danny Berndt. At the time they thought Aaron was knocked out. “About an hour later an EMT came by, took me outside and told me. I fell into a ball on the ground. I didn’t know what to do. . . . .


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