RICHLAND COUNTY, Ohio (WJW) – The Lexington High School Minutemen and Madison H.S. Rams are longtime soccer rivals, but on Tuesday night, the two teams and their fans were united in a common goal to support a family that is facing heartbreaking pain and sorrow.
“It makes you really think, this is just a game, and you know, really puts things in perspective for you. We’ve definitely been praying for the family and everybody involved,” said Madison Soccer Coach Tim Lord.
It was on Sept. 13 when an explosion leveled a house outside the village of Crestline in Richland County.
Tragically, a husband-and-wife team, who ran a small environmental clean-up company, just happened to be in the basement at the time, attempting to identify the source of an odor reported by the owners of the home.
Killed in the blast was 47-year-old Krista Cramer, of Lexington. Incredibly, firefighters found her husband, 53-year-old Troy Cramer, alive under smoldering debris in the basement.
Even though a chair shielded Troy Cramer, who is also a colonel in the Ohio Air National Guard, from the full force of the blast, he still suffered severe injuries.
The fact that Troy Cramer survived the explosion is considered a miracle, but he still faces a long and uncertain road to recovery.
We are told he remains in critical condition in the burn unit at the Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.
Those touched by the tragic story began organizing fundraisers, including one on *spotfund, to support their three children amid the challenges that lie ahead.
“I’m sure they’re going to have financial and emotional hardships after this for sure,” said Tina Clever, who is president of the Madison Rams Boosters Club.
Even though the Cramer children played for rival Lexington, Clever decided to organize a fundraiser for the family by collecting donations at concession stands during soccer games across the surrounding area.
Clever says she was inspired by the way the same communities lifted up her family in their time of need three years ago.
“My son was involved in an accident. The soccer community between Lexington, Clear Fork, Ontario, all the schools came together and did stuff for my family, so I’m always there to try to give back and do what I can to help others,” she said.
The organizers of the effort to support the family hope it eases the burden that Colonel Cramer and his family must now carry.
“People just care and want to help. They kind of see that anything can happen. Unfortunate, tragic things can happen and that if that would happen to them, they would want people to reach out and help.”
Meanwhile, the Ohio Fire Marshal’s Office is still attempting to determine the cause of the deadly explosion, but we are told the level of destruction is making that job incredibly difficult.
One of the possibilities that investigators are examining is a possible leak in a line that supplied propane to the house.