Someone just pulled into the driveway. I was sure it was Jesse. I was ready to cuss at him for being so late and making us worry. But it wasn’t Jesse. It was two emergency responders telling us Jesse had been in an accident and it was bad and that we needed to come now.

Sunday, August 5th, 2012 was just a day like any other. The sky was clear. The sun was out. We had just gotten home from church and Jesse was heading up to the high school to shoot around before dinner. This was the same as any other Sunday. Jesse was in such a good mood. He had been working hard all summer, going to basketball camps and working at Ruby’s Inn general store. He splurged and bought an Xbox 360. It was finally here and so were his new games. As he left he told his brothers he would be home soon and then they would play Xbox. Then a quick “I love you” was exchanged with his parents and he was off. His friends say it was a good day. Jesse had won a game of one-on-one and was very excited. We texted him to let him know dinner was ready. We teased him saying we were eating already and how good it was. He told his friends bye and even told them to hang onto his ball until the next game and left with a big smile on his face. I am not sure why but this time he didn’t put on his seat belt. He always wore it. My guess is he was so excited by the events of the day he just wasn’t paying attention.

The stretch of road between our house and the high school is about five miles. Jesse had driven this road a million times. He had driven it when it was covered in snow. He had driven it when it was covered in water. He had driven it late at night coming home from work. He knew this road. On this day, for some reason (possibly noticing his seat belt was not on and reaching for it), he went slightly off the road and overcorrected. He went into the other lane and then overcorrected again back to the shoulder, hitting a reflector post which sent the car rolling. Jesse was ejected. Someone was on the scene in minutes and he was awake and crying. He died 15 minutes away from the hospital. The death report said it was a broken neck. We believe he died of severe internal bleeding.

He was not texting! He was not speeding! The only part of the car that was not smashed was the driver’s side.

There is never a day or a second that goes by that we don’t think about our son. He had so much to live for. This has left a very big hole in our hearts.