Our Story
A Day We Wish We Could Erase
It Only Takes Seconds
What started out like any other ordinary day, ended in tragedy. In an instant, our 16-year-old daughter was gone and we were left in shock.
It was the early evening of May 17, 2021. Our daughter, Shea-Lynn McGaw, had left our home earlier in the day to spend time with her friends, picked up by someone who had received her license just one week before. They were travelling along a dirt road heading home, not more than 10 minutes away, when something unexpectedly caused the vehicle to pull to the side of the road. In an attempt to respond to the situation, the driver panicked and overcorrected, causing the vehicle to flip.
Shea-Lynn, who was sitting in the backseat, was thrown from the vehicle and killed instantly when the vehicle landed on her. It all happened in a matter of seconds and without any warning. The girls didn’t even know what happened until it was all over.
Shea-Lynn was the only one in the car not wearing a seat belt. Her two friends, who were wearing their seat belts, walked away with only minor injuries.
How Could This Have Happened?
We ask ourselves that question every day. Never ever did we think we would be in the place we are now. Never ever did we think this would happen to one of our kids and that we would become a part of a club that no parent wants to be a part of. It still doesn’t feel possible, but this is what we know. Just moments before the crash, Shea-Lynn had removed her seat belt to slide over in the backseat to allow room for her friend to join her. The reasons behind the decision to not resecure her seat belt that night remain unknown, but just 3 minutes later the crash happened.
When it comes to road safety, what we must always remember is that accidents happen in mere seconds and when you least expect it. Rarely does someone intend to get in an crash. Therefore, it is so important to always be prepared; always do what you can to protect yourself and others in the vehicle by wearing your seat belt.
We believe that if Shea-Lynn had been wearing her seat belt that night, she'd still be here today.
How Her
Spirit Lives On
In an attempt to make sense of the situation, in the weeks and months following the crash, we looked up statistics on seat belt use and other contributing factors to motor vehicle accidents involving new drivers. We compared Alberta’s Graduated Drivers License (GDL) program to our other Provincial counterparts. What we found surprised us.
We learned how many people die unnecessarily on the road each year because they aren’t buckled up. We learned that 1 in 5 new drivers are getting into a crash in their first year of driving. We learned that when travelling with peers, youth are one of the greatest offenders when it comes to not wearing a seat belt. And we learned that car crashes are the leading cause of death for youth 16-25 years of age ¹, with 80% of speed related crashes being at the hands of a similar-aged driver ².
We want to change these statistics. We want to make the roads a safer place to be for our teens…for everyone for that matter. Many of these reported fatalities are completely preventable if only different choices are made. Choices like buckling up.
So we use Shea-Lynn's spirit and story to drive us forward. If you were to ask anyone to describe Shea-Lynn, they would say she had a fierce drive to succeed in life and cared very much about the well-being of others. By sharing her story, may she never be forgotten and may her legacy of kindness continue to educate and impact others to get home safely.
Help us prevent more families from experiencing the heartbreak of losing a loved one on the road.
Help Us Make A Difference.
Help us celebrate Shea-Lynn’s life by joining Shea-Lynn’s Butterfly Effect movement and support our seat belt awareness initiative today! 100% of the gifts received will go directly into developing programs, services, and resources that will help to spread awareness both within our schools and communities. Together, we can help save lives, one seat belt at a time. Thank you.
Sources: 1. Traffic Injury Research Foundation, 2021 2. Tests.ca/driving-statistics, 2020