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TWO BROTHERS AND A COUSIN....

"I SHOT MYSELF...." Amanda

Lillie Edna Chavers was a wonderful person that loved everyone and especially her 3 daughter's and 5 grand children. But all of that was taken away by a 21 yr old girl that was texting and driving. Lillies husband had just gotten a new motorcycle and they were in Bay Minette, Alabama heading to buy a new home . As they sat at the red light a girl texting and driving never looked up. She hit them at 55 mph as they sat waiting for the light to change. Lillie died instantly. Now her girls suffer every day and her grandchildren ask for her nonstop and ask to see her or call her. This selfish girl texting and driving took everything away from them. She was my cousin. Everyone called her sunshine because she would light up every ones day.

My little brothers Ben and Daniel were best friends and everyone loved them so much. They could make anyone laugh. They had hearts of gold. Daniel had 3 children and Ben had 4 and his 5th child was due any day. My brothers were just like my own children because I had a large part in raising them. They would help anyone and had such kind hearts. They were always together. Just like the night of July 16th 2015 when a lady came around a curve and hit them head on. She admitted she was texting and never seen them. My brothers were both ejected because they didn't have their seatbelts on. Daniel died instantly and Ben lived 40 days in intensive care but eventually died from his injuries. Losing them has destroyed my family. We are in constant sorrow. The pain is never ending. This past February I attempted suicide by shooting myself. But my boyfriend came in as I was pulling the trigger and knocked the gun away from my head and the bullet went thru the upper right side of my chest. Dealing with a loss this large never gets easier. And this woman doesn't even have any guilt for destroying all of our lives. She stole so much from our family because of a text.

In my cousin lillies case ahe was the only one that died. Her helmet flew off when they were hit and she flew over the car busting her head so bad they would only let us identify her by a small cross tattoo on her hand. And with my brothers my mother, sister, and I had to identify him. And that's an image I will live with forever. No one knows the pain of having to look at your baby brother lying on a slab with bones sticking out of every part of his body and his face smashed in so bad that he is unrecognizable. His legs were crushed and twisted around with all his bones sticking out. This image haunts me every day. I have had to be committed into 2 short term mental hospitals since their deaths. And my mother is now a recluse that never leaves home. She only stays home and cries. She has had to be hospitalized in a short term mental hospital as well since their deaths. Our family is shattered in every way. None of us will ever be ok again.

DISTRACTED DRIVING RUINED OUR FAMILY

Tyler Smedley, age 22, was traveling home from work and less than a mile from his home when he decided to do a video selfie on his phone. He was not paying attention to his job on hand and his car drifted across the roadway and crashed into a light post and was killed on impact. His car went Airborne and flipping and rolling his car hitting several trees and landed on its driver side and Tyler was partially ejected. Tyler grew up in California and moved to Washington State to be with his 4 year old twin boys Danny and Charlie. Tyler was a "awesome dad" who loved his boys very much and who's happiness was all that matter to him. Tyler had just graduated a year before from Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School in Seattle and went to Vail Colorado for his internship. He had his life planned out for him and his sons. He loved to cook for everyone and anyone. He was working on his way up the chain to become a Chef which was his dream job. Tyler loved all sports and was scheduled to make a four month hike of the Pacific Crest Trail the year after his death. Tyler is still helping others even after his death. Tyler's corneas were donated enabling two gentlemen to now see again. He also helped additional people through the donation of skin and bone tissue and bone marrow. I now became an advocate in the fight to end cell phone use while driving i now share the last 6 seconds of Tyler's life in order to bring attention to the young drivers who are out there on their cell phones and doing selfies, snap chatting and texting.

Tylers last 5 seconds....

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        Alyssa's Story

Alyssa Headley was just 24 when her world was literally turned upside down. A normal 24-year-old, working two jobs, looking at apartments, living her life until the night that it all changed. Driving home from work as she entered an intersection she noticed that the truck coming up to the stop sign wasn’t slowing down. “I’m not sure if I was knocked out or just closed my eyes but when I opened my eyes something didn’t feel right, I took off my seat belt and I fell, I was upside down in my car.” Alyssa was taken to the trauma unit with injuries including a dislocated left knee and a shattered left ankle that needed surgery. “One of the police officers at the scene who had followed the guy to the hospital went through his phone and determined he was texting while driving. He was distracted, that’s what caused him to run the stop sign and put me in the hospital, recalls Alyssa. “I was at the hospital for 4 nights and 3 days. I had to have surgery the next day on the ankle to put plates and screws in. I also had to have what we call the ‘twin towers’ for 3 months to help the bones heal and stay where they need to. The surgeon had to put my ankle bones back together. He kept saying if it was 10 years earlier I would have lost the ankle.” After her second major surgery came lots of physical therapy. Walking was difficult Alyssa recalls “I was in pain, it was uncomfortable, and I didn’t want to do anything that would cause the ankle any pain because sometimes it was unbearable. The physical pain didn’t even come close to the mental pain I go through to this day. I still will not drive and have troubles even getting in a car. So here I am almost 4 years after the accident, still struggling with walking and constant pain in the ankle. I am 27 years old, I don’t have a job and I still live with my parents; all because I was at the wrong place at the wrong time and a text message was more important to someone than paying attention to the road and the signs.”

 

"Today I was supposed to become a wife...."

 

11/11/18 Today was supposed to be the best day of my life. Today was supposed to be the day I married my best friend. I was supposed to wake up, put on my wedding dress and walk down the isle to the man of my dreams. Today, in front of all of our family and friends Randy & I were going to express our love for each other once again, and our vows that we would hold sacred to our hearts. Today was supposed to be the day I have dreamt about since I was a little girl. Today I was supposed to become a wife. Today I was supposed to become Mrs. Zimmerman...

...but today I woke up alone as I do every day. Today I woke up with my heart broken all over again. Today my daddy will not walk me down the isle. Today I will not get to see the look on Randy’s face at the end of that isle when he gets his first look at me in my wedding dress, the dress I had to hide from him because he couldn’t wait to see it. Today I will not see all of our friends and family. Today I will not marry the love of my life. Today I will not have a husband...

...and that is because a person made a choice that has forever changed my life, a choice to NOT stop at a stop sign, to NOT stop when he saw my fiance coming toward him on his motorcycle, but instead tried to hurry across the street.

Please I beg each and every one of you that reads this post, WATCH FOR MOTORCYCLES, stop at stop signs and drive with care because you never know whose whole world is on that bike. Maybe if that person stopped, I’d be marrying my Randy, my best friend, the love of my life

I love you Randy Z Zimmerman

Forever & Always, we promised!

Xoxo your princess

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