Freeport police chief's son-in-law killed in head-on crash: 'It's different to be on the other side'

FREEPORT, Texas (KTRK) -- This week, Freeport Police Chief Raymond Garivey was on the receiving end of a notification made by law enforcement letting him know a loved one had been killed.

On Tuesday at around 11:30 a.m., the Texas Department of Public Safety said a woman with her 12- and 6-year-old daughters in the car veered across the road into oncoming traffic and hit Blake Subinsky head-on.

Both Subinsky and the woman were killed. The two girls were taken to the hospital.

On Thursday, DPS said one had been released and the other was still in the hospital, but is reportedly doing well.

It's unclear what caused the woman to veer into oncoming traffic.

"Thirty years in the business, I have made some notifications in my time," Garivey said. "I've had to notify loved ones of tragic loss and on Tuesday, it was not a good thing for me when I got the notification that my son-in-law had been killed in a car accident."

He said he showed up to the horrific crash on SH 35 near County Road 192, and it's a moment Garivey said he'll never forget.

"It's different to be on the other side, receiving that and being on the scene," the chief said. "Being that family member crying and upset in disbelief. The look that I've seen when I have to tell someone and they show up on scene."

The chief said when Subinsky came into their lives, he immediately clicked with their family.

On the day of his daughter's wedding, he said Subinsky promised to take care of his daughter and granddaughter.

"As a dad, you always want your daughters to be taken care of and, you know? One day marriage will come and you want what's perfect for your girls, because your girls are perfect," Garivey said. "This man was perfect."

Subinsky, who was 32 years old, quickly stepped in to the father role for 5-year-old Kailey when he married her mother.

The kindergartener said she loved to play games with him and recalled Subinsky making her cinnamon rolls and cooking bacon.

"When I was scared of the dark, I used to snuggle with him and go down to his room," Kailey said.

While he did not work in law enforcement, he was very interested in it and loved to tell people what his father-in-law did for a living.

Subinsky grew close to 7-year-old Abigail Arias and her family as she battled cancer.

The young girl captured the hearts of people across the country during her fight with a disease that eventually took her life.

Garivey said Subinsky got a tattoo of the orange ribbon with Arias' signature in the middle of it in support of the child.

"Her father posted something [online] very kind, Abigail's dad, about them meeting together at the gates of heaven and to take care of each other, and I know he truly meant that," Garivey said.

Co-workers of Subinsky's mom made a GoFundMe page that has raised more than $130,000 in 24 hours to support Kailey as she continues to grow.

A visitation will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 8, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Palms Funeral Home in Angleton.

Services are set for Thursday, Sept. 9, at 10 a.m. at New Hope Church in Manvel.

For updates on this report, follow ABC13 reporter Mycah Hatfield on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.