RI Teen Playing Hockey Again After Serious Crash That Kills Teammate

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI — Against many odds, a West Warwick teen who suffered serious injuries and lost a hockey teammate in a head-on crash, is back on the ice.

"I'm very lucky, to say the least," Kevin MacDonald, who was hit by a drunken driver in February, told WPRI 12. "State Police even told me they don’t understand how I'm alive."

On Feb. 12, Macdonald was driving with his best friend and teammate Matthew Dennison, 17, in Exeter. Then, the two were hit head-on by a drunken driver. Dennison later died at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, while MacDonald needed two plates put into his arm and femur, as well as a 20-inch rod in his leg.

Authorities identified the drunken driver as Alexander Krajewski, 30, of North Kingstown. Krajewski, a former Newport firefighter, was charged with DUI of liquor or drugs resulting in death, driving to endanger with death resulting, DUI liquor or drugs resulting in serious bodily injury and driving so as to endanger personal injury resulting. Newport city officials have since fired Krajewski.

Macdonald graduated from West Warwick High School in May. He now plays hockey for the Rhode Island Blues U18 team and hopes to eventually play in college.