Preventable, though-unforeseen, inconceivable, unimaginable, irrevocable. . . all these words describe too many truck crash tragedies year after year–as a result of numerous factors which have been argued over too many times.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2013/08/06/300846.htm “What’s amazing about these laws is that the trucking industry has been vehemently opposed to them for more than a decade, challenging their legality. Recently, a court of appeals upheld the fatigue laws.” (2013)
Our family greatly appreciates the tender loving care shown to us from the first moment the terrible news of our truck crash became known even through these moments of facing the memories afresh.
I am grateful to not be going through it alone and although members of our family don’t all write about it as much as me (or at all), I know that we are in this together.
I wanted to share some of the things which they have written during this last week:
On May 4, Rebekah wrote, “2 years ago today, 17 year old AnnaLeah Karth was killed due to injuries sustained in a collision in which the car she was riding was hit once by a semi that veered into the next lane where the car was causing the car to be spun around, then hit again and pushed underneath a second semi.
She had talked about possibly studying medieval history at the college level, and she loved to write. Instead of introducing her to some of my medievalist friends from college like I had planned, we dealt with the aftermath of her death.”
Photos she shared:
On May 8, Rebekah wrote, “Two years ago today, Mary Lydia Karth died at the age of 13. Her death was due to severe injuries from a collision involving two semi trucks.
For many other people, however, it was a day of hope, because she was matched with 50 people needing bone marrow, in addition to her corneas being matched as well. 13 years isn’t very long, but that is an amazing impact and legacy to leave behind: the gift of life and the gift of sight.
It doesn’t take away our pain, but I am comforted that there are several other families who received the gift of extra time with their loved ones. http://www.organdonor.gov/whydonate/index.html ”
On May 8, Naomi wrote, “I used to nanny for a little boy who said the sky was “crying” whenever it rained. So it seems pretty appropriate that today, on the two year mark of Mary joining her sister in heaven, that it is pouring out right now.
It’s still so hard to put in words… This feeling. Loss, pain, grief. We miss her. We miss AnnaLeah. So much so that we still can’t talk about the wreck without needing to cry.
It isn’t fair, but I’m so grateful for the precious years we did have- and how Sam’s sisters became my sisters too.
Sam confessed recently that part of his attraction to me was how playful and silly I could be. Much like his Mary, who was his best friend. We will cherish these times most of all, the memories of the impossibly silly* things we did. How we could laugh. How we could try to make anything fun or a game.
And we will remember. And cry. And keep on going.”
Photo shared by Naomi:
On May 5, 2015, Danelle wrote, “May 4th went by as just another ordinary day, but the pain in our hearts is still there. Loved, Missed, and Never forgotten. AnnaLeah Karth, May 15, 1995 to May 4, 2013.”
Photo shared by Danelle:
On May 8, Danelle shared, “My mind is a buzz of thoughts. I have so many things I want to share and I am not quite sure how to keep it brief. On the one hand I want to talk about how grateful I am to be a part of this family and how much it means to me to know each one of my in-laws.
On the other hand I want to share with everyone the wonderful silliness* that Mary shared with everyone that she met. Or how I know my daughter was too young to really remember her, but how I can see some of her silliness rubbed off on her niece as she was such a big part of her early years.
I will forever remember the joyful little girl and the wonderful young woman she had become. I am grateful for the 8 years that I was blessed to know her and the love that she poured into my children. Loved, Missed, and Never forgotten. Mary Lydia Karth. August 6, 1999 to May 8, 2013.”
Photos shared by Danelle:
* Silly Mary. . . with all this talk of silly Mary, here are some glimpses of her fun-loving self, her infectious joie de vivre:
Remembering Mary–the moments, days and years she was in our life. A photo memorial slideshow lovingly prepared by her brother & sister a few weeks after her untimely death on May 8, 2013.
The truck crash was around 2 in the afternoon on May 4, 2013. AnnaLeah left us right away–no time to say goodbye.
Mary died in the early morning hours of May 8.
Although the nurses I have talked with reassured me that Mary was medicated to be comfortable, it still breaks my heart when I think of what she must have gone through. I have no idea of her level of awareness at any point after the crash. And I am thankful that Jerry and many others were able to be with her–after he was able to get there the next day.
But I was stuck in a hospital two hours from hers. I wish that I could have been there with Mary to comfort her. And say goodbye.
Thus far, we have not addressed the truck size and weight issue on this website. But it is clearly an issue that needs addressing.
The trucking lobby has once again thrown its weight to sabotage legislative measures meant to improve the safety of travelers on the road. What is their purpose in doing so? Can they back up their claims that the provisions they are backing will make the roads safer and that the measures that they are preventing are unnecessary?
In particular, I have been looking into the area of increasing truck size and weight. The trucking lobby claims that allowing “Double 33s” will make the roads safer because there will be fewer trucks on the road. And exactly what research have they done to back up this supposition?
Furthermore, has the trucking industry taken steps to provide the necessary additional training for truck drivers who would be handling these bigger trucks? I have had several conversations–in person and via email–with a seasoned trainer of truck drivers. This is what he said last night when I asked him about this concern of mine:
Drivers of modified trucks ( longer trailers or “doubles”) do in fact require additional training. Because of their size, they require a higher level of skill and knowledge. The whole idea of safer roads because of fewer trucks is just a “gimmick”. We need to be careful as we move into this area. If the training requirements are not appropriate, the roads in fact will be more dangerous. (Charlie Gray, Carolina Trucking Academy)
Here are some other articles and research studies on this issue, including evidence of possible failure to maintain lane upon braking:
Copies of Detailed Research on This Issue–including past DOT Reports on Truck Size & Weight: http://www.cabt.org/research
http://tinyurl.com/myhlr2k: p. iii, “During the fast stops the trailers did not always stop in a straight line and would not always remain in its own lane.”
Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death—about 40,000 people die in crashes each year. The Department of Transportation makes highway safety rules based upon how much safety measures will cost. We are hoping to change that and move toward a Vision Zero safety strategy model with goals of: Zero Deaths, Zero Serious Injuries, Zero Fear of Traffic.
It has been two years now since we set out for Texas from our home in North Carolina and unexpectedly “said goodbye” to AnnaLeah and Mary when our trip ended in a horrific truck crash outside Greensboro, Georgia, on May 4, 2013.
Just recently, a memory surfaced of Mary when we lived in Michigan and she was just a little tyke. I was putting one of her Beanie Baby dogs on my bed and it reminded me of when she used to get so excited to see a pug at one of the houses she delivered The Grand Rapids Press to in her section of our family newspaper route. The memory made me smile.
It got me to thinking about memories and what we have left to help us carry on. When we lose someone, perhaps what is initially on our mind is thoughts of how they were at that time when they left us–at that age when they died. AnnaLeah will seem forever 17 to me and Mary forever 13. But my memories of them jump all over the years (depending on what it is that triggers a particular memory).
My heart is full of so many good moments. Even painful or frustrating times (like getting tangles out of long hair or grumpy, girly moods) have a place in my thoughts which make them seem not as bad as they once did and worth going through all over again if only the girls could be back here with us.
It wasn’t my plan to have it be this way–to have those moments come to an end and only be able to carry the girls in my heart as memories from the past. But here I am, learning how to treasure those memories with a grateful heart for the gift Mary and AnnaLeah were and the confident hope of seeing them again.
Tears & smiles mercilessly mingle. Meanwhile, slowly and mercifully, new reasons to live and love and laugh beckon me ever onward.
Remembering AnnaLeah & Mary–the joy & the pain–with hope, we carry on.
Photos & video of our girls set to the song, With Hope, by Steven Curtis Chapman–a dad who wrote this song after his own tragic loss of his youngest daughter.
I used to love May; it was my favorite month with moderate temperatures in my home state of Michigan–freshly-green growth and the sweet fragrance of blossoming trees.
Not so much anymore. When an underride truck crash, on May 4, 2013, robbed my two youngest daughters of life, my pleasure in the month of May quickly dissipated.
And the problem is that it is not just that day–when AnnaLeah died–but the days following May 4 as I learned of her death and recovered in a hospital two hours away from where Mary lay dying in another hospital and our family was scattered around the country struggling to grapple with the terrible tragedy we faced.
Then there came the day when Mary died: May 8, followed by days of planning funerals and headstones and travel arrangements–struggling to strive for normalcy in the celebration of four college graduations and a wedding. We too-quickly faced what would have been AnnaLeah’s 18th birthday on May 15, and not so many days later we gathered together, on May 18, for the first of two funerals for the girls–this time in Midland, Texas.
We went home for the first time since the crash on May 19 –a desolate, empty feeling when we arrived at the house they had left behind expecting to return themselves at about that time, their belongings awaiting the arrival that never happened.
The rest of the month was the beginning of learning to live without them and planning for their second funeral in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on June 8. So, basically, the month has become one reminder after another of what we have lost. Is is any wonder that I no longer look forward to May?
Today for example, is May 2, but it is also the first Saturday in May, which is the day of the week when we started out on our fateful road trip to Texas from North Carolina which ended abruptly (for AnnaLeah and Mary) in Georgia. Even this day has me in turmoil.
The grief is complicated by the many things which I have learned about highway safety and the growing awareness that, way too often, nobody really takes responsibility for the countless and potentially-preventable deaths which occur on the roads of our country year after year.
Until that May, I had never heard of an underride crash–too often due to an underride guard that did not prevent a car from riding under a truck and resulting in horrific injuries and deaths. Recently I have read many reports of the problems with defective cars and the fatal crashes which have occurred as a result. Who takes responsibility for these deaths? And when will they come to an end?
For example, here is a report on recent activity with GM recalls:
“. . . the company took its taxpayer-funded bailout agreement and turned it around on millions of consumers unlucky enough to own compact cars with ignition switch defects who had accidents before July 10, 2009, the date when the agreement became effective. Invoking a liability shield negotiated by the Obama administration,GM won a ruling from a bankruptcy judge that is now on appeal, avoiding billions in damages for injuries, deaths, and the lost resale values of vehicles with the defect. The judge took the view that when the ‘old GM’ went bankrupt, the ‘new GM’ got a fresh start, even though all but 15 of the executives and managers involved in the ignition switch fiasco remain ensconced in the company’s iconic skyscraper in Detroit. GM won this counter-intuitive relief even though a report it commissioned from former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas revealed that senior executives knew about the problem as early as 2005 but dragged their feet on notifying consumers until 2014. ‘Although everyone had responsibility to fix the problem, nobody took responsibility,’ he wrote.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rena-steinzor/gm-and-its-no-good-very-bad_b_7191124.html
We appreciate all of the people who signed the AnnaLeah & Mary Stand Up For Truck Safety Petition. Together with over 11,000 people, we helped to send a strong message to the Department of Transportation: Changes are needed in truck safety issues in order to stop the senseless, preventable deaths which occur year after year on the roads of our country.
Please act now to be a part of our team to continue our push for change. The most important thing which you can do is to stay connected with us bysigning up to be on our Mailing List (get our newsletter and other important updates). As we continue to make inroads in truck safety issues, your participation is vital. We would like to be able to let you know when there is a way for you to help make a difference. You can multiply our safety advocacy efforts.
Newscast from our trip to DC to deliver the petitions to DOT:
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For those of you who have lost a loved one yourself in a truck crash, please consider sharing a photo and story with us on our Truck Crash Victim Photo Memorial Page. Not only will this allow us to help you preserve your loved one’s memory, but it will also serve as a reminder of the countless lives which have been touched by preventable truck crashes. Send your information to us here: photos@annaleahmary.com .
On behalf of the family of AnnaLeah & Mary Lydia Karth, whose loss we feel so deeply, Jerry and Marianne Karth
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. I don’t know if we will ever know what kind of Distracted Driving was responsible for AnnaLeah’s and Mary’s deaths (no one investigated this thoroughly that we are aware of). But we do know that the truck driver–for whatever reason–did not notice the slowed traffic ahead in time and, and as a result, hit our car twice.
Was his driving impaired due to being distracted, drugged, drinking, or drowsy (Driving While Fatigued–DWF)? Whatever the reason, AnnaLeah’s and Mary’s lives were abruptly ended.
Hardly a day goes by without coming across some reminder of the special girls they were and the empty place that no one else can fill in our lives. Just this morning, I found a little piece of paper that had fallen off a clothes hanger. In the last couple years of her life, Mary had made tags for her hangers and meticulously organized her closet. A simple reminder of our Mary, a poignant reminder of our loss.
Here are some further thoughts & tools to help you avoid distracted driving:
Tips for Distracted Driving Awareness because CALLS KILL: “Eighty percent of American drivers believe hands-free devices are safer than using a handheld phone. But that is just not the case. More than 30 studies show hands-free devices are no safer because the brain remains distracted by the conversation. When talking on a cell phone, drivers can miss seeing up to half of what’s around them, such as traffic lights, stop signs and pedestrians.Take the Focused Driver Challenge and pledge to drive cell free.” http://www.nsc.org/learn/NSC-Initiatives/Pages/distracted-driving-awareness-month.aspx?utm_medium=(none)&utm_source=(direct)&utm_campaign=CallsKill
