‘My best friend’: Family mourns father who drowned saving 6-year-old son in kayak accident

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT/Gray News) - The family of a 35-year-old man who drowned in Lake Anna is trying to come to terms with his sudden death.

Andrew Knight left behind three young children, as well as a loving fiancée who is pregnant with their fourth child.

Lacey Tustin, 37, opened up about the loss of her partner of nearly a decade.

“I’m gonna miss my partner in crime, man,” she said. “He was my best friend.”

Tustin says she never expected to be raising their four children alone.

“Jaxon, he’s six. My middle, Todd, is four. And then I got my youngest one over there, Payten, she’s one. And then the 12-week-old,” she said.

Tustin said she had been at the water with Knight and their two boys just hours before tragedy struck on Tuesday.

The mother says she had taken their 4-year-old home earlier because Knight wasn’t ready to leave with Jaxon, having promised the 6-year-old a turn on the kayak.

But neither of them was wearing a life jacket when the kayak capsized shortly before 8 p.m. Witnesses say Knight was trying to push the kayak back to shore when he suddenly went under and never resurfaced.

A good Samaritan was able to save the boy, but not Knight.

“He saved my son ... I haven’t made my way down to thank him, because I don’t even want to go to that lake,” Tustin said.

Tustin said the pain she feels is magnified by her son’s experience and the blame he feels.

“Jaxon thinks that if he had held on, saved his energy, his dad wouldn’t have gotten tired. And of course I do my part to reassure him it’s not his fault, but the last memory Jaxon has is his dad trying to save him, but going under and never coming back,” Tustin said.

Four children will now grow up without their father, a role that loved ones say Knight cherished.

“He was a hard worker, and he loved his kids,” said David Drake, who would have been Knight’s father-in-law. “He was a good man. He would stop and help anybody, like people should when they’re in need.”

Tustin said she hopes others will learn from her family’s nightmare and make smarter decisions on the water.

“If anything positive could come out of this, I hope people hear this story, because even the best swimmer can have a bad day,” she said. “I just beg people, like for your family and loved ones, wear a life jacket. Just wear one because if they don’t, you could be living my reality.”

The family is still in the process of planning a memorial service for Knight. Loved ones have set up a GoFundMe to support Tustin and the children.