Lots of people make bucket lists of things they want to do before they leave this world. But it’s we often believe that we have a long time to complete that list before we actually die.
But tomorrow, unfortunately, isn’t promised to us.
Nine-year-old Brooklyn Newville made a bucket list and we’d think she would have had her whole life to complete that. However, that wasn’t the case.
Brooklyn, who goes by Brookie, her 5-year-old brother Jace, and her grandmother Linda Danette Smith Irie were killed in a car accident on the Turner Turnpike near Wellston, Oklahoma.
Their cousin Bella was in the car and survived.
Their car was struck by 17-year-old Noah Alexander DeDear who is believed to have been allegedly reading a text at the time of the accident. DeDear was charged with three counts of second-degree manslaughter and will be tried as an adult, according to The Norman Transcript.
“It’s not worth someone’s life, and the pain and suffering that we’ve had to go through because you want to be on your phone for two seconds,” the children’s father Brian Newville told News 4. “How, why, what could have caused this, what could we have done to change it?”
Brian and his wife have gone through an unspeakable amount of grief since the accident.
“We’ve had to move a couple times, can’t really walk into the house and see where the kids used to be, where we used to go, ya know,” Brian said
But there is one thing that has recently helped to bring this family a little bit of comfort.
The family recently came across Brookie’s handwritten bucket list.
“We found my daughter’s bucket list,” Brian said. “I actually had heard about it, but I had never seen it until the other day.”
Brookie imagined that one day she would visit the Golden Gate Bridge, drive a boat, or jump off of a cliff into a swimming home.
“Go scuba diving, see a moose,” Brian said. “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.”
Brookie’s parents said they will try to fulfill her bucket list for her, even if it takes a few years.
Still, they wish it was Brookie who could have completed her own bucket list.
“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,” Brian said.
You can learn more about their campaign here. GoFundMe accounts have also been started to help the family during this difficult time.
You can contribute to that here.
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