KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Ben Kredich was a warrior. He advocated for raising the bar when it comes to students with special needs. A few years ago, Ben and his mother Kim Kredich made proposals to the University of Tennessee and talked to lawmakers about allowing UT's FUTURE Program to include independent living.
The program helps students with special needs bridge the gap between high school and adult life. That's where Macey Pierce first met Ben, as his teacher.
"Ben basically pushed towards having independent living for FUTURE," said Macey Pierce, a teacher in the program. "[Ben took] it all in putting his spin on things, just buzzing with energy and questions about the world."
A few years later, the program was able to include independent living. At first. it started with seven students and has grown into having 19 students living on their own.
Emma Burgin is the coordinator of the FUTURE program and she said this is why Ben's impact is going to last forever. For Ben, living on his own in college was a huge victory.
"I will never forget the day we found out housing would be possible. Ben and his mother brought me some flowers," Burgin said. "Future students would not be able to live independently and us be able to help them if Ben and his family hadn't worked side-by-side with me and UT administrators to open up the opportunity."
Ben's loss has caused an immense amount of pain across the whole program. Teachers and students are mourning.
"I'm heartbroken. Obviously, he was such an effervescent, humming-with-energy guy," Burgin said.
His friends and people who knew Ben described him as a supportive person who used to be part of many things. Leslie Manning said he came to her graduation and congratulated her. She said Ben's personality stood out.
"He was he was really sweet. He was a really nice friend," Manning said. "He made a lot of people laugh, he lit up the room whenever he was there."
Ben may be gone but there's a place where his legacy and who he was will go on forever.
"There are no words," Pierce said. "We hold him in our hearts."
Ben also spoke before the Knoxville Transportation Authority around a year ago, in July 2022, asking them not to suspend Route 10. The route went through the Sequoyah Hills area, and he said he started taking the bus in 2017 after starting at the UT FUTURE Program.
"My name is Ben Kredich and I take the Number 10 Sequoyah Hills bus several times each week, to and from my jobs on UT campus and downtown. I also catch the Number 10 bus after I close Treetop Coffee Shop to meet my dad at Sunspot for dinner because the fries are my favorite," Ben said at the podium. "I understand why my neighborhood bus route might disappear for a while, but I don't want it to go away forever. The Number 10 bus stop takes me a half-dozen minutes to walk to and is safe. The Number 11 bus stop takes me three-dozen minutes to walk to and is sketchy because cars drive so fast on Kingston Pike."
KAT released a statement about his death, available below. They said the route was cut due to workforce shortages.
"KAT is heartbroken at this senseless tragedy that took the life of a beloved passenger. One of Ben’s bus routes was part of service reductions made due to ongoing workforce shortages resulting from the fallout from the pandemic, which KAT is still experiencing.
KAT continuously works with a variety of partners to encourage safer pedestrian infrastructure throughout the City, as walking is always a part of the transit journey. Ben’s loss, however, is a reminder that even sidewalks cannot stop tragedies related to impaired motorists."