The Tragic Death of Michael Pabst: Family remembers a devoted husband, dad and proud Air Force vet

Glendale, Arizona: On September 6, at around 3.15pm, Michael Pabst was riding his motorycle up Litchfied Road heading home, when he swerved to avoid a collision with another vehicle. A cruel twist of fate saw his action lead him straight into the path of an empty school bus. Michael Pabst would never get home, he died from his injuries.

At the Pabst home, his wife was beginning to worry. Michael was two hours late and had not called her to let her know about the delay. She tried calling him but all she got was his voicemail. As anxiety heightened she called her daughter Courtney to find out if she knew where her dad was, she didn't.

Courtney, who had just left work, began to feel a sense of dread in her gut. She checked the local Facebook motorcycle groups and read that there had been an accident in Glendale. She posted a picture of her dad's bike and asked if it was the one involved in the accident, the resonse made her heart sink. She immediately headed to the scene of the accident, when she got there an officer showed her an ID card, it belonged to Michael.

Michael and his family moved to Arizona two years ago from New Jersey.  After serving in the Air Force for 21 years, "my father got a job offer here in Arizona that he could not pass up," wrote Courtney on the GoFundMe page set up to help Michael's family.

"My dad was a hardworker who supported my disabled mother, special needs brother, and little brother. My mother is unable to work therefore she needs help with bills and funeral expenses. We will be working with the VA as well," she added. 

"We want to know if he knew going out of this world we loved him. Even though we do, but the reassurance of when he went out," Courtney said.