Ritchie Called an ‘Inspiration’ : Quadriplegic’s ‘Quest for Life’ Ends at Age 23

Keith Ritchie was never able to rise from the wheelchair that held him or the mechanical respirator that pumped his lungs.

But to the community of Calabasas, the ex-football player could not have stood taller as he fought back from a freak accident in 1977 that left him a quadriplegic at the age of 15.

“Before the accident and afterwards he epitomized the quest for life and happiness,” said Michael Weiner, who was at Ritchie’s side when a car veered into them and a friend as they stood in a shopping center parking lot in Northridge.

His classmates from Calabasas High School visited him regularly during the 18 months he was hospitalized. They pitched in to buy videotape equipment and recorded school activities for him to watch. As he grew stronger, they staged events such as a rocking chair marathon to raise $20,000 for the medical equipment he needed at home.

Enrolled at Cal State San Diego

Ritchie’s persistence allowed him to graduate in 1980 and eventually enroll at San Diego State University. He was studying psychology there when he died Saturday at the age of 23 from what a San Diego coroner’s spokesman said were unknown causes.

Funeral services were scheduled for 10 a.m. today at St. Mel’s Catholic Church in Woodland Hills, with interment to follow at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills. He is survived by his parents, Marcia and Bill Ritchie, and a brother, Kelly.

“He had gone through so much, with so much courage, that it was difficult to think that he would not make it,” said Penny Battan Mertens, Ritchie’s 10th-grade counselor. “It sounds a little trite to use the word ‘inspiration,’ but that’s really what he was.”

In 1983 Ritchie was awarded a $4.5-million, out-of-court settlement stemming from the accident.

“The first thing he did after his settlement was donate $10,000 to the school for football field lights,” said Bob Fraisse, vice principal of Calabasas High. “He was here last November for the dedication. That’s the way he was. He never forgot Calabasas.”