Through tragedy, Assemblyman’s son’s legacy lives on

ALBANY, N.Y. ( NEWS10 ) — It happened back on February 22, a day that started pretty typically for Assemblyman Robert Smullen.

“I actually had to take my wife to a doctor’s appointment,” Smullen told NEWS10.

However, tragically this day quickly became a day the Smullen family will never forget . Smullen’s 14-year-old son AJ was playing at a friend’s house in Niskayuna when he was hit by a car along Route 7.

“We got a phone call, and we rushed to Albany Medical Center,” Smullen recalled.

Smullen, the Republican Assemblyman who represents parts of the Adirondacks and Mohawk Valley, said his son fought hard for 12 days, but on March 6, succumbed to his injuries .

“Our lives will never be the same,” Smullen said.

The Smullens are now making sure AJ’s legacy will live on in more ways than one.

“AJ’s sacrifice was to be part of the Donate Life program .”

That sacrifice has already become a gift to five different families .

“We don’t know who they are,” Smullen told NEWS10. “Maybe someday we’ll meet some of them; maybe we won’t, and that’s ok, but the gift of life is very important.”

And that’s not all the Smullen’s are doing in AJ’s memory.

“We’ve started the Alexander John Smullen Memorial Foundation.”

Assemblyman Smullen says it will be a $5,000 scholarship for a high school senior who wants to live out AJ’s dream of an outdoor career.

“If there’s a kid that wants to join the fire service, wants to go into law enforcement, wants to be a forest ranger, wants to farm their land, we’ll pay for it,” Smullen said.

Assemblyman Smullen, his wife Megan, and AJ’s three sisters are taking it day-by-day. They’re hoping to see everything that made AJ so special shine on through his memory.

“You have to face it. That’s really what we’re doing,” Smullen told us. “My wife and I get up every morning and we have our coffee, and we talk about AJ.  It’s kind of our way of coping with the grief. It’s still day-by-day.  But it’s a little less than it was last week, which is a little less than it was last month.”

Read the latest from NEWS10:

• Schenectady man pleads guilty to attempted murder
• Albany man pleads guilty to receiving child sex abuse images
• Double homicide in Schenectady connected to suicide on 787
• FDA gives green light to first at-home syphilis test as cases rise
• Social Security: Where do Democrats and Republicans stand

NEWS10 is the Capital Region’s local news leader!

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NEWS10 ABC.