Just before Christmas 2021, three Louisiana siblings were killed at the same time when a drunk driver collided with their vehicle.
Now, a TikTok made by their older sister has gone viral, with millions of views.
In it, she shows joyful clips of the family before the accident followed by the blue and red lights of emergency vehicles. She also shows her mother’s new routine tending to their gravesite.
Katie DeRouen posted the video. She lost siblings Kamryn Simmons, 15, Christopher Simmons, 16 and Lindy Simmons, 20.
“Kamryn was also especially close to her mom, always wanted to spend time with her, and accompanied her to church every Wednesday night,” said the teen’s obituary. In the video, she can be seen hanging out with her mother, Dawn, at Walmart.
“As an old soul, Chris was abnormally sensible, thoughtful, and helpful,” said his obituary. “He had a keen awareness of and deep gratitude for his parents’ hard work and sacrifice to provide for him and his siblings that he never took for granted.”
“In high school, she played on the volleyball and softball teams, was homecoming queen, and helped with the yearbook,” said Lindy’s obituary. “She was an active member of the youth group at Assembly Christian Center, was a member of the Missionettes, and took photos for the church. Her life was forever changed for the better after she went on a mission trip to El Salvador when she was 15.”
They were three of Dawn’s nine children.
“Grief is love with nowhere to go,” said DeRouen in the caption of her TikTok.
According to People Magazine, a “haunting” newspaper clipping shown in the video depicts 54-year-old drunk driver John Lundy, who died at the scene after crashing into the family. He had a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit, said the outlet.
“The decision of one man changed so many lives,” said DeRouen. “He can’t take it back. It’s permanent.”
Dawn and Christopher’s girlfriend were also in the car at around 9 p.m. Dec. 17, 2021 and they were hospitalized with serious injuries but recovered, The Advocate reported. In the accident, Dawn sustained a punctured lung, two broken ankles, leg fractures, broken wrists, fractured ribs, damage to her spleen and a lacerated carotid artery, said the outlet.
“When I came home from the hospital, when I tell you, I was so broken, physically, emotionally, like I didn't know – I just didn't know how I was going to do it,” she told The Advocate. She has relied on her faith to help her carry on.
Since the accident, people have donated nearly $800,000 to the family through a GoFundMe, and they have started the Simmons3 nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers associated with drunk driving.
One person in the U.S. dies in a drunk driving accident approximately every 39 minutes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. From 2020 to 2021, this figure jumped by 14% to 13,384. Two out of every three people will be in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime, per Moms Against Drunk Driving data.
It is the top cause of death on roadways.
“Wearing a seatbelt, using public transport & rideshare apps, and taking personal responsibility for the safe roadways are all crucial steps,” to cutting these numbers down and saving lives such as the Simmons siblings, said Moms Against Drunk Driving.
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