AKRON, Ohio — A golden urn inside the Stow home of Nick and Kelly Keleman contains the remains of their 25-year-old daughter, Megan Keleman.
For them, touching it is powerful. Their heartache is palpable.
"We didn't ask for any of this," Kelly said as her eyes welled up with tears.
The parents invited a News 5 crew into their home to talk about the horrific loss of Megan and how so many people will remember her fondly.
"Megan was just a bright, shining light. She was kind and compassionate and loving," her mother said.
On the evening of August 14, Megan called her dad. She was at the drive-thru of the Taco Bell on Graham Road and she was worried. The driver of an SUV had rammed into the back of her car.
"She said, 'Hey dad, some guy just rear-ended me just now,'" Nick recalled.
He told her to stay in the car and call police. A Taco Bell worker heard what Nick said through the speaker and called police.
However, moments later, Jason Williams, 53, got out of his vehicle with a gun, and 911 calls began flooding into the Stow Police Department.
What followed was something no parent should ever experience. Nick was left feeling helpless on the other end of the phone.
"To witness the horror of hearing the last thing you remember of your daughter screaming, 'He's out of the car!' and just a blood-curdling scream and you hear a pop," he said.
Williams killed Megan before taking his own life.
Why Williams did it baffles the Keleman family, but Nick said this was not a case of road rage as some have speculated.
"She did not cut the guy off. He had clear issues," Nick said.
Williams had a pending case in Summit County Common Pleas Court for improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle and OVI.
A condition of his bond, originally set by a Stow Municipal Court judge, was "no possession of firearms."
"Megan was an innocent victim of a horrible crime," Kelly said.
The Keleman family stressed they don't want Megan to be remembered as a murder statistic.
She was a Stow-Munroe Falls High School graduate, where she ran cross country, and a proud alum of Cleveland State University, where she earned her Master of Business Administration.
"She was so passionate, loved CSU, bled green and white," Nick said.
Megan loved attending Cleveland Guardians games with her dad and continued her passion for helping people by working at Shelter Care, which helps at-risk youth.
"To give them the necessary tools and help and therapy and treatment they need to not go down the path — and how ironic — she lost her life to an individual who needed the help," Nick said.
Only two weeks after their family tragedy, Nick and Kelly are determined to honor Megan's legacy.
"She was a giving person and so we wanted to show her still continuing to give," Kelly said.
To that end, a GoFundMe page is raising money for scholarships in Megan's honor.
All of the money raised will go towards scholarships to help college students at Cleveland State University and kids who are part of the Engineering Academy in the Six District Educational Compact.
Both Megan and her younger brother, Matthew, attended the academy.
Kelly said she's very proud that Megan's memory will live on through the scholarships.
"We don't want our daughter to be remembered as the girl who got murdered in Stow at a Taco Bell. We want her legacy to be she was a giving person," she said.
As of Friday afternoon, more than $29,000 was raised through the GoFundMe page, exceeding the original goal of $25,000.
A spokesperson for Cleveland State released the following statement: "Cleveland State University is deeply saddened by the loss of Megan Keleman, a recent CSU graduate and passionate campus leader. To honor her memory and continue her legacy of service, Megan’s loving family has established a GoFundMe page to help raise money for scholarships at Cleveland State in her name. This gift will no doubt inspire future generations to make a positive impact on their communities, just as Megan did, and we look forward to sharing more as details are finalized.
Brian Bachtel, director of Career Technical Education at Kent City Schools-Theodore Roosevelt High School, said the Six District Educational Compact is beginning a conversation to discuss the scholarship opportunity for students completing the Kent City School's Engineering Academy.
Early ideas are to structure an essay within the scholarship application highlighting some of Megan's amazing qualities, such as compassion, volunteering, and love of learning.
The Keleman family said it wants to have conversations with state, local, and federal officials about mental health reform and tighter gun restrictions.
In the meantime, Nick is left replaying the final moments of the final phone call with his daughter. He takes some small comfort in knowing his voice was with her on that tragic night.
"I've had a lot of people say, 'She went to her dad,' And I get that, but I wasn't there to protect her. I would trade that bullet any day of the week," he said. "She came to her dad with this. At least she was with someone she loved as she passed."
