By Kay Hendrix
It was November 27, 2002, during Thanksgiving weekend. I
was seven months pregnant with my son, and I lost a very dear friend. Not only
did I lose her, but we also lost her mother and her middle son. All of them
perished while traveling to Phoenix, AZ, to visit her youngest son.
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| Kay Hendrix and her son. |
While still in Kansas, they failed to stop at an
intersection and were hit by an anhydrous ammonia truck and never made it out
of the state. All three were gone so suddenly, breaking my heart and our
close-knit community into a billion pieces. She was the closest thing that I
had to an older sister, she was a great listener and a wonderful friend that I
still miss dearly to this day.
The accident cost all three of them their lives, because
none of them were wearing their seat belts. The crash threw all them from the
vehicle and mangled their bodies to the point that they were unrecognizable,
resulting in closed casket funerals.
When the family found out, they were afraid of telling me …
I was so far along in an already touchy pregnancy, they thought that I might
lose the baby. I don’t honestly remember a lot about the days that followed
other than the great sense of loss and sadness that I felt.
The following weeks were a blur, but then my son arrived,
which brought another round of sadness. She wasn’t there to celebrate his birth,
listen to my concerns or even guide me through being a first-time mother. In
the months that followed, I realized that I felt her presence with me every
day…especially every time I got into the car. I was almost able to hear her say,
“put your seat belt on, didn’t you learn from me?”
It is because of that accident and the loss of her and her
family that pushed me into the work I do. I believe very strongly that
promoting safety in the motor vehicle industry allows me to reach people and
hopefully make a difference.
If one more person understands how important safety on the
highways is, that is one more person making it home to their family and
friends. One more person that doesn’t have to feel the heartache of losing
someone so tragically.
Kay Hendrix is the Director of Safety for the
Kansas Motor Carriers Association.
Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. How horrible to lose your friend, and then also at a time when you should have been celebrating together. Thank you for sharing your story.
ReplyDeleteKay: It must be so difficult to share this story, which even years later must still carry with it a terrible sense of loss. Now your son is a fine young lad, and he has this wonderful mom who has instilled in him the continual need to buckle up! Thanks for your good work in the present ant going forward.
ReplyDeleteKay, thanks for sharing your story. Even after all these years, it is clear that the loss of your friend and her family has had a great impact on your life. This was bad situation that points to the need for one to be vigilant when driving by staying alert, keep your focus on the driving task, and of course buckling up
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