When the police came to the crash site, they said she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt, but I saw it on her. We are a seatbelt wearing family!  I have a hundred pictures of Natalie wearing her seatbelt. I KNOW she was wearing it after Fillmore. Absolutely. We were driving a BMW X-5 and it would alarm if the seatbelts were not engaged. We had just stopped 6 miles down the road so she could go to the bathroom. Did she not put her seatbelt back on? Why didn’t she hear the alarm? Why didn’t I hear the alarm? We were not even listening to the radio (no radio reception in that area).  She was sitting on her folded quilt and feather pillow. I had wondered if the pillowcase was stuck in the seatbelt, making it not engage correctly.

 

The investigators said she would NOT have survived the crash, even if she had been wearing her seatbelt. Her side of the car was destroyed, as you can tell by the picture of our car at the crash site, above. It was horrible. Our lives were forever changed.

 

Despite the unanswered questions, of how this really happened, as a family we have chosen to support the Zero Fatalities campaign.  We want everyone to not have to live through the heartache we have lived through. If there is any chance this could save your child’s life, we want Natalie’s story to help you.  Please wear your seatbelt, make sure your kids’ seatbelts are engaged and worn properly.  It has been the worst thing our family has gone through. You don’t want to live a life without one of your precious children.

 

When we crashed, I was sent two Angels I call my “first and second responders”. Two young men, driving separately, who saw dirt flying in the air...but no car, who had the prompting to stop. Who helped my baby and covered her with a quilt, who helped me climb up a rocky embankment in the dark, without my glasses or shoes 😭. Who helped me call Natalie’s dad first (who lived in St George too). Who called my husband (who was fast asleep) with horrible news. I am so grateful for those men who attended to my baby. They saw things they shouldn’t have seen. Both ended up with PTSD from seeing my baby. 😭😭😭 And you know what, they both got a Quilt ❤️❤️. I Love them like family. Both say they have a close bond to Natalie now. They feel her and talk to her. They both feel she is their guardian Angel. So grateful for all the emergency responders and all they did for my baby and me. That day forever changed our lives.

 

So grateful Natalie was able to spend the last 15 months of her life seeing her dad every week for dinner. 💜  (I think that’s why we were really in St George, so her dad could have those precious memories). The link we have attached from Zero Fatalities has his tender, very heartfelt statement of the crash.

 

On one of Natalie’s Angel Anniversary’s we decided as a family to attach a large banner at the crash site, which is on I-15 just outside of St George, Utah at mile marker 36.5. We wanted to bring seatbelt awareness to anyone and everyone that drove by to see her banner.

 

We put Hawaiian Leis on the fence because they are symbolic. Hawaii holds special memories for us and our family. There is a tradition in Hawaii, to give Leis to your family when they come to visit, because you LOVE them. And you give them a Lei when they leave, because you want them to RETURN. 💔

 

The crash site is a place of sorrow and despair, but it is also a Holy place. It is where she met God.