Parents find heartbreaking note from daughter months after her death
Two parents who discovered a heartbreaking note their young daughter penned shortly before her death are calling for change on the roads to prevent similar tragedies occurring.
Brookyln and Jace Newville, aged five and nine, were killed instantly last year when a driver slammed into their grandmother’s car in Wellston, Oklahoma, Their grandmother also passed away during the collision.
Investigators believe the teen driver of the other vehicle was texting behind the wheel.
The children’s grieving parents struggled to come to terms with the stark reality of their tragic loss and any reminder of their children was all too much.
Yet merely seven months after the crash their emotions were stirred further when Brian and Shanée Newville discovered Brooklyn’s notepad with a note she’d left shortly before her death.
“We found my daughter’s bucket list,” Mr Newville told Oklahoma’s News 4.
“I actually had heard about it, but I had never seen it until the other day.”
The extensive list included activities such as “see a moose”, “jump off a cliff into a swimming hole” and “drive a boat with no help”.
The parents have now committed to ticking off each activity in their daughter’s honour.
“She always wanted to go hunting with me, never got a chance too. We were trying to find a spot on my dad’s land to do that,” her father said.
Campaign to end mobile phone use behind the wheel
Not only do they plan on completing the list but they are actively campaigning against the use of mobile phones while driving.
“We are putting out our campaign of ‘Put it Down’ so people will put their phones down. It doesn’t matter if it’s your phone, food or anything in the car while you’re driving, put it down,” Mr Newville said.
They are campaigning through their website while organising several charity events including an annual golf tournament.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to support the family.
