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C-dub, et al:
Kevin was not at fault in this accident. He was proceeding straight on a green light.
The other driver was at fault when he made his left turn without failing to yield.

Kevin happened to be driving his older Ford Focus that day, while the other man was driving a Ford Expedition. The difference in the 2 vehicle's weight was substantial.

If Kevin had been driving his Ford F250 Super Duty Tremor with a lift kit, he might have survived. But that's not how it went down. The smallest decisions one makes can make a huge difference.

RIP brother.

SIA

Today, 4/30/24, I was up to Denton to file my homestead exemption. Then I finally got around to something I have been meaning to do for a while.

I then went to the Denton County courthouse at 1450 McKinney St. in the City of Denton.

I had the Little Elm PD police report about strogg/Kevin Tam's accident, which happened on 9/12/22. It took first responders 1 hour to extricate him from his Ford Focus, a car in which my S.O. and myself, had ridden in multiple times when it was Kevin's turn to drive to Arlington or Willow Park for the gun breakfasts. Kevin hung on for 3 days, passing from this vale of tears on 9/15/22.

The Clerk of the Court, for criminal matters (as opposed to civil matters), referenced the LEPD police report and searched for a long time, trying to see if the man who caused Kevin's death was ever charged by the DA for vehicular manslaughter, or some such charge.

There was no record of this man ever being charged with anything related to causing Kevin's death. He skated, and continues to live his life.

Rest in peace Kevin.

SIA

His parents live in Saratoga, Cali. His brother lives nearby in Cali.
His sister lives in Arizona, town unknown.

His girlfriend has been in constant contact with the family. She has flown out to Cali to meet with them. I am assuming that the dispersal of Kevin's house, vehicles, firearms, and other personal possessions is in process.

I got the police report yesterday from Little Elm PD. The accident happened at 814 AM on Monday, 9/12/22, at the intersection of Eldorado Parkway and FM423. At this point of FM423, Frisco is one side of the street, Little Elm is the other. 815 AM - Little Elm PD was dispatched. 821 AM - LEPD arrived on scene.

The man who caused Kevin's death was a 44 year old Hispanic male from McKinney, TX. He was driving a white Ford Expedition, failed to yield while making a left turn, and caused the fatal collision with Kevin's Ford Focus. Kevin used to own a white Ford Excursion.

I measured the distance from the accident scene to Kevin's house.........7.8 miles.
I measured the distance from Kevin's house to my house.....................7.8 miles, but in a different vector. Kind of creepy.

On somewhat of a positive note, 5 good citizens who witnessed the accident, made themselves known to LEPD, and are listed on the police report.
Thank you for not just driving on your way.

My next project regarding Kevin's death is to determine the court date, since I assume the man who killed Kevin has been charged with vehicular homicide. I got onto the Denton County Court website, but the search function was not good, and I could not find out anything. I will work on this next week. blackhorse1 also wants to attend the trial.

SIA

Today, I made a records request from Little Elm PD. It may take up to 10 days to be produced. So, C-dub, you needn't bother to duplicate my current efforts, but thank you.

I went by Kevin's house today. His neighbors are keeping an eye on his house. Deliveries of cat food for his cats, and maybe other items, were coming to his house for a while. The neighbors told the delivery people to simply send back the items.

Kevin's collection of firearms are unlikely to go to his brother in Cali since none of them are likely to be on the approved Cali firearms list.
He also had at least one NFA item (suppressor). Just guessing here, but the firearms probably need to be sold to some FFL that can take them all.

SIA

Since strogg/Kevin James Tam and I only lived about 10 minutes apart (Shady Shores and Oak Point), we carpooled for all the years that the North Texas "gun breakfasts" have been held. If 2nd Saturday/Frisco, we would drive ourselves separately. But for the 3rd Saturday/Arlington and 4th Saturday/Willow Park breakfasts we would round robin who drove each month. Kevin, my S.O., and myself had long talks with him about a variety of topics.

Kevin was blessed with the IT gene. His brother said that Kevin was configuring his own VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) system at a young age, and he made his living as a "network" pro.

Kevin was also blessed with the mechanic gene to make things.
He tinkered with his F250 Super Duty's electronics in order to turn his parking lights, backup lights, and 3rd brake light into fast strobes.
He wanted more strobes though. Did he simply buy a ready made strobe system? No sir, he sourced a variety of parts and built the system he wanted.
He created a range inside his house so that he could shoot his guns indoors.
He self taught himself how to weld.
He built his own MP5.

Maybe these things are easy/peasy for some of you to do, but as someone who didn't get the "mechanic gene", I was impressed.

His EDC consisted of at least one handgun from his extensive collection, a high power flashlight, a knife, and a medical kit with tourniquet.

He was a great shot with his own firearms, and could pick up a friend's gun and also be accurate.

Kevin was a Cali native, but yearning for freedom, he moved to Texas. His choice of Oak Point (Denton County, next to Little Elm) was somewhat of a dart thrown on the map. He exulted in going for rides of hundreds of miles in his large Fords (Excursion and F250 Tremor) in order to soak up as much Texas as he could.

Although all forum members are invited to all 3 of our North Texas breakfasts, the core group of us that attend all 3 every month were strogg/Kevin, Mr. and Mrs. blackhorse1, myself and my S.O.

Kevin's accident occurred on 9/12/22. He passed on 9/15/22 in a Plano hospital. His liver and kidneys were donated to 3 people.
He was on FM423 in Little Elm, Texas, had the right of way, and was rammed in the driver's door by a white Ford Expedition or Excursion.

He was driving his Ford Focus that day. We speculate that maybe if he was in his F250 Super Duty Tremor, diesel, 4x4, with a Ranch Hand front bumper and a lift kit, could he have survived? There's no way to know. He was a good driver and always wore his seatbelt.

Kevin, we will all miss your rye sense of humor and pleasant demeanor.

Rest in peace my friend.

SIA