A funeral for 18-year-old Katey Kirkland remains on hold after she was killed Aug. 7 when a suspected drunken driver crashed into the family’s White Settlement home.

Her father, Kevin Kirkland, is in critical condition at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth from injuries he suffered in the crash.

And Amy Kirkland, the teen’s mother and Kevin Kirkland’s wife, spends many hours at the hospital with her husband.

But the suspect, 63-year-old Donald Gruber of White Settlement, is free after he posted $50,000 bond on Aug. 13 following his arrest on charges of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and intoxication assault with a vehicle.

Law enforcement records showed that Gruber had three previous DWI convictions before the crash.

“Amy is doing well, considering her circumstances,” Amy’s friend, Rachel Wood of White Settlement, wrote in a Sunday email. “She is slowly processing the events, so she is still numb to some aspects of the situation.“

On Friday evening, officials at the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw school district held a moment of silence for the Kirkland Family at the Boswell-Saginaw football game. Amy Kirkland attended.

Katey Kirkland was going to be a senior at Saginaw High School, where her mother is a teacher. Her father teaches at Boswell High School.

Amy was inside the home at the time of the crash but she was not seriously injured.

“She is charged with the unimaginable task of moving forward through this tragedy,” according to a statement in the Kirkland’s GoFundMe account, referring to Amy Kirkland. As of this weekend, residents had raised more than $18,000 for the family. The goal is $50,000.

The crash occurred about 6:15 p.m. on Aug. 7 in the 9300 block of Jason Court.

A pickup truck pulling a flatbed trailer was traveling southbound on Dale Lane when the driver lost control, White Settlement police said in a news release. The pickup went off the road, crashed through a neighbor’s fence and trees on the north side of Jason Court and then crossed the street and crashed into the Kirkland’s home on the south side of the street, police said.

Gruber was just blocks away from his home. He was convicted twice in Indian Harbour Beach, Florida — on June 24, 1983, and again on Nov. 23, 1993, according to police records. The city is about 70 miles southeast of Orlando.

A few years later, Gruber was convicted of DWI in DeKalb County, Georgia, in the Atlanta area.

Gruber could not reached Monday for comment

Rachel Wood of White Settlement and many others from Amy Kirkland’s family have supported the family day after day since the fatal crash.

Wood and Jonetta Prewitt established the GoFundMe account for the family.

“She is surrounded by friends from all walks of life, and we’ve been there just to hold space, to keep her company, and to help her face the myriad of medical, legal, and final decisions,” Wood said Sunday. “She spends a lot of time with Kevin in ICU and talking with his medical team. She has a strong and wide support system.”

This story was originally published August 30, 2022 8:36 AM.