I just stumbled onto this site. I was curious about this person who died. When I read the article, I totally freaked out and had to post. First, let me say my heart goes out to her family. No one should have to die this way. My 22 year old daughter was a very close friend of the young man who caused this accident and also lost his life. His fiance is one of my daughter's best friends. Chad was not 19. He turned 24 years old 10 days before the accident. He just graduated college and was looking forward to a beautiful life with his future bride. The car was brand new and was a graduation gift from his parents. He was on his way to a family vacation to the Outer Banks. As far as his family was told, as the investigation unfolded, Chad did not fall asleep at the wheel. He had a brain anurism (sp?) and was dead before the crash. Katie's (the fiance) entire family watched in horror as the accident took place. They were in cars behind Katie and Chad. Katie found out that Chad had died several hours later when she woke up in the hospital. Katie's parents told me it was amazing that they were not having a funeral for 3 of their children, (Chad, Katie and Katie's stepsister Megan). Katie became a widow that day at the age of 22. It was the hardest funeral I have ever been to. Chad was one of the sweetest kids I ever had the pleasure of knowing. An update on Katie. She has a broken pelivis and needed extensive knee surgery. She is in a wheel chair. Hopefully by the fall she will be out of the wheel chair and in rehab. The stepsister Megan had a crush arm and had surgery also. She is doing well phyically. Mentally neither girl is doing well. This was a terrible tragedy for all involved. Two young lives that should have never been lost.
Thank you for updating all of us on this tragedy. It is so sad to hear the after-effects (sp?) of what has happened. My prayers go out to the other families involved as well as Ellen's family. A brain anurism is something that we cannot control, let's just find peace in knowing that they are in God's hands right now, which is in a much better place than this Earth. God bless.
Thank you for the update. I, too, just happened to see this post and I had "spoken" to her online through this forum. My prayers go out to her family.
Thank you for posting. I am so sorry to hear of the whole accident. My prayers go out to the two girls, Chad's family, friends and your daughter. It sounds like they are still dealing heavily with this tragedy on a daily basis. I hope, with time they are all able to find a measure of peace. I will pray that they do.
Grief Resource While I don't post often and do not know any of those involved, my heart breaks for the families. I lost my 20 year old son 10 years ago in a car crash. For those of you who do know these folks, please let them know of a wonderful resource they may not be aware of: The Compassionate Friends. This is a support group for parents, siblings, grandparents, etc. who have experienced the death of a child. I am very active in our local chapter (only wish it had existed 10 years ago) and do public speaking about grief. The website (www.compassionatefriends.org) will help you locate a group in your area aswell as provide many resources. My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected!
This just makes my heart break. What a terrible tragedy for all involved. We forget how fragile life is. One moment in time, and the lvies of hundreds of people are forever changed. Thank you for giving us the information. I will certainly add them all to my prayer list. God bless you all!
Wow... for this to be the world wide web, it is a small world. I am sorry to hear about him and the loss his family is having to deal with. Goodness.
Thank you so much for this posting. It's sad to now know both sides of the story. May all the families involved be blessed.
Today marks a year since the terrible accident. Thinking of Ellen and her family. Good luck to Kate as she prepares to do Hike for Haccamo in Ellen's memory. I sure do miss Ellen on here.
It's hard to believe that it has been a year already. My thought and prayers go out to her family today. I think of Ellen often.
I was a little surprised and sadden to see this thread again. I also cannot believe it has been a year. I can't tell you how often I think of our ellen_a! Prayers to her family .
Wow, one year. I was just going back through some of my posts last week searching for something and saw a response she had to one of my questions. I paused for a moment when I saw her picture...Still as sad as ever.
It's hard to believe it's been that long (like most things it's just seems like yesterday). Like Just Me...when I search something & Ellen's pic comes up, I think my heart stops for a second.
Ellen Aquino is one of the most special people i've ever encountered on this site. She will always be missed and we need to celebrate her accomplishments. I think an article to one of our local teacher support organizations would be a fantastic tribute to the students and teachers she has touched. We miss you Ellen. I refuse to delete your email you sent me on my hard drive. It will stay there forever. Troy in Downey, CA Aspieteacher
It it extremely sad to know that it has been a year. Ellen was a wonderful, very fun person who had a lot to contribute to our community. We all certainly miss her.
