After reading so many encouraging words of comfort today and reminders of how we are being lifted up in prayer, I wanted to mention the indescribable blessing of hearing stories about how our story impacted you — either when you first heard about it or along the way.
Like water to a thirsty soul. Refreshing. But leaving me wanting more.
I am here in Virginia waiting to go tomorrow morning to the IIHS’s Vehicle Research Center in Ruckersville for the Underride Roundtable. I wish that I was not here–not because I’m not looking forward to it, because I am. I am expecting it to help move us forward as a country to improving underride protection.
The reason, of course, is that I’m here because we lost AnnaLeah and Mary. And in the aftermath, we discovered that they might not have died if the underride guard had been stronger–more effective. But the federal standard did not require it to be so.
And that is why we are here: to change that. For somebody else.
We stopped at IIHS before going to our motel so that we could set up a table filled with handouts on the history of failed underride protection, as well as photos and mementos of Mary and AnnaLeah. Let no one forget the point of the gathering: to create survivable crashes in order to save lives.
Participants will see this reminder at our table:
Missing AnnaLeah. . .
Some of my favorite memories of AnnaLeahSome of my favorite memories of AnnaLeah
It’s almost like the Lord inspired that artist to make a statue of AnnaLeah and Mary.
I planted some sunflowers behind the statue in hopes of growing some morning glories that will climb up them and put the girls in a garden. Might attract some real butterflies. Vanessa found a bug caught in the tiny butterfly net one day.
I had to thin the sunflowers today and felt bad deciding which ones would get to survive and which ones would get pulled up.
And I would have felt bad leaving the girls out in the rain except I knew that they probably would have enjoyed it–based on past experience! (photos of Mary from May 10 and July 25, 2012–some rare rainstorms in Midland, Texas, and one of AnnaLeah in a raincoat in Michigan with her siblings playing in the puddles).
Just had a phone interview with ABC. Pray that they decide the Underride Roundtable is something that they want to attend and report on.
If you LIKE the facebook page of the Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy law firm during the month of May, they will donate $2 to AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety (maximum $1500).
To add your support, go here and LIKE their page: https://www.facebook.com/NurenbergParis/
We are excited at this opportunity to benefit from a community-minded organization.
We were privileged to become friends with one of their attorneys, Andy Young, who also holds a CDL, owns a small truck company, and is passionate about truck safety. He will be the Moderator of the panel discussion at the upcoming Underride Roundtable at IIHS on May 5.
Last year, I saw this statue of two young girls excited about a butterfly in a jar. It reminded me so much of AnnaLeah and Mary. We decided to get it this year to help us as we remember the 3rd anniversary of our truck crash, on May 4, 2013, which took Mary and AnnaLeah from us.
They were a bit older (though not much), than these girls seem to be, when their lives were frozen in time–with no warning, rhyme or reason. Those of us whom they left behind will continue on with our lives–getting older, making new memories–forced to do so without them joining in.
We will be different than we might have otherwise been if they had not been snatched from us. And they have been robbed of all that might have been. Our two fun-loving, creative and adventurous girls.
Imagine how that unnatural disturbance is taking place all over our country and globe as many lives are unexpectedly and tragically changed forever. 33,000/year traffic crash deaths in the U.S. on average. Year after year.
We will remember you, precious ones.
AnnaLeah & Mary: Our Butterfly Girls
April 30. 2016
We just got home from helping with Aaron Kiefer’s latest side guard test. Watch it here:
Aaron will be taking this truck with his innovative side/rear guard to the Underride Roundtable at IIHS next week for everyone to see. Then he plans to leave it there in hopes that IIHS will do their own crash testing of his prototype.
Here’s my report on the first crash test of his side guard prototype on March 13, 2016: Witnessed safety defect in action at underride crash tests; this is what snuffed out my daughters’ lives.
Photo album from a day of crash testing from preparation to execution:
If only more had been done to protect against underride before it was too late for Mary and AnnaLeah.
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I heard from Andy Young today. He will be the Moderator for the Panel Discussion at the Underride Roundtable next week. He is eagerly anticipating that event after just returning from attending “The Commercial Vehicle” show in Birmingham England. He said that he has lots to share from that experience. I’m looking forward to hearing all about it.
I am also happy to be able to say that at the Underride Roundtable on May 5, 2016, over 65 representatives from the trucking industry, government, safety advocates, engineers, crash reconstructionists, attorneys, and media will be on hand at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Vehicle Research Center to “sit down at the table together” and discuss and demonstrate truck underride crashes.
This group will include representatives from:
It is unfortunate that, over the decades in which no adequate solution to this tragic problem has come about, there has been much miscommunication, misunderstanding, misinformation, and mistakes made. I, for one, am ready to encourage things to move forward with positive momentum–aiming for the best possible underride protection.
