'Welcome to Plathville' Star Kim Plath Opens Up About the Accidental Death of Her 17-Month Old Son
TLC's newest show Welcome to Plathville has introduced audiences to the ultra-conservative Plaths: a Christian fundamentalist family of 11 in rural southern Georgia who don't eat sugar, use technology, or go to traditional schools. On Tuesday night's episode, mom Kim and dad Barry were preparing to celebrate their 22nd wedding anniversary. Before they left for a weekend away, they opened up about an accident that resulted in the tragic death of one of their young sons.
In the fall of 2008, Kim was using her car to move fruit trees on their 55-acre farm while her 17-month-old son Joshua was nearby. When Kim pulled her vehicle forward, she accidentally hit the little boy.
"I had just seen him and I thought it was okay," Kim recalled. "But I ran over him."
An ambulance arrived on the scene and emergency technicians tried to save Joshua while the rest of the family cried and prayed, Kim said. But despite the responders best efforts, Joshua died. The young Plath's death was later officially ruled an accident by the local Sheriff's office, according to the Thomasville Times Enterprise.
Kim, who at the time of the accident was eight months pregnant, said that she really struggled in the months following the accident — something she's also opened up about on the family's website.
"I woke up every morning and functioned. But just barely. I wanted to die," she wrote. "My husband was dealing with losing his son and his wife. I was gone. Checked out. Unavailable for conversations or reality."
The family matriarch says that her husband was stronger and more supportive than she imagines she would have been had he been the one behind the wheel.
"I thought of the accusations I would have thrown at Barry if the situation had been reversed," Kim wrote. "He never did. He never even hinted at anything like that. He was strong. He just loved me."
During Tuesday night's episode, audiences saw tensions rising between Kim and Barry and some of their older children as the kids pushed back against their overly sheltered lifestyle, which includes strict rules of no soda, ice cream, secular music, TV, or video games. The parents explained that the loss of Joshua has them fearful of losing any more children in any form.
Welcome to Plathville airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on TLC.
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