This past week, I went to the funeral of my cousin Andrew
Therrien (or Celebration of Life as my other cousin, his brother wanted it referred to). It's just awful what happened. It was all over the news in Southern California and my hometown of Riverside, CA. He was at an off road race and a race truck flipped and took the lives of 8 people and injured many. Surprisingly these races have few accidents like this and this was just a freak thing. Yes they were probably too close and maybe the truck was going a bit too fast with that many fans around but what's done is done and that's sort of the nature of these races. Andrew was a thrill seeker and loved life, he's been on motorcycles since he was three and had been going to these things since he was very young. What's amazing about this incident though was that it all happened so fast that nobody had time to think but Andrew instinctively threw three people out of the way before the truck got him. The Father of one of those people talked and I could just tell how much he owed not only his sons life but his own to Andrew because how different would his Monday have been had his son not been there to start his first day of 3rd grade. My heart goes out to all those who knew and loved Andrew, his father, mother & brother. I know what it's like to lose a sibling in fact my sister was the same age as Andrew, 22 when her life was taken from her. At least Andrew died doing something he loved and saving the lives of three others including his own daughter. It breaks my heart that she will never know her father (especially since he was doing his best to be a single dad) but I'm glad she'll get the stories of what a hero he was to so many and how his life changed the lives of others.
There is a new (well new for me) website I've been liking and it's called I heart Faces. (
http://www.iheartfaces.com/) They have lots of information and photo challenges and I thought I would start participating. This week is appropriate for me in that the theme is
photojournalistic. I think these photos are exactly that.
This past week, I went to the funeral of my cousin Andrew Therrien (or Celebration of Life as my other cousin, his brother wanted it referred to). It's just awful what happened. It was all over the news in Southern California and my hometown of Riverside, CA. He was at an off road race and a race truck flipped and took the lives of 8 people and injured many. Surprisingly these races have few accidents like this and this was just a freak thing. Yes they were probably too close and maybe the truck was going a bit too fast with that many fans around but what's done is done and that's sort of the nature of these races. Andrew was a thrill seeker and loved life, he's been on motorcycles since he was three and had been going to these things since he was very young. What's amazing about this incident though was that it all happened so fast that nobody had time to think but Andrew instinctively threw three people out of the way before the truck got him. The Father of one of those people talked and I could just tell how much he owed not only his sons life but his own to Andrew because how different would his Monday have been had his son not been there to start his first day of 3rd grade. My heart goes out to all those who knew and loved Andrew, his father, mother & brother. I know what it's like to lose a sibling in fact my sister was the same age as Andrew, 22 when her life was taken from her. At least Andrew died doing something he loved and saving the lives of three others including his own daughter. It breaks my heart that she will never know her father (especially since he was doing his best to be a single dad) but I'm glad she'll get the stories of what a hero he was to so many and how his life changed the lives of others.
14 comments:
Oh my goodness, I am so sorry for your family's loss. (((HUGS)))
So very sad and tragic, but what a quick-thinking courageous man to see people in danger and help them get to safety....What an amazing act!
I'm sorry for your loss. I will be thinking of you and your family.
Stopping by from I Heart Faces. Your entry caught my eye. I am so sorry for your loss. I read about that accident...it's tragic that his life was cut short way too soon. He did a wonderful thing. He is a hero.
Welcome to I Heart Faces first of all! So glad you are joining in! It is just wonderful to meet all the new people that join each week!
I am so sad about Andrew's tragic death. How sad. And how utterly amazing that he was so selfless he saved others. I will pray for his parents and family this week as I can not even imagine the pain and sadness they are experiencing right now. Tragic.
I am sorry for your loss.
I am so sorry this happened to your family, I heard about this on the news. I hope you may be comforted by he memories you have of your cousin.
Wow, amazing story both in your words and in the photo's you took!! Very sorry for your family's loss, God Bless You all through your time of healing. Thank you so very much for sharing this with us all!!
My niece and her boyfriend were there that night but were not part of the accident. I am so sorry for your family's loss.
I'm so incredibly sorry for your loss as a family.{{{hugs}}}
I got here from IHeartFaces too... I am sorry for your loss. He was a real hero... And I am even more sorry for his daughter - I wish she could have known such a wonderful man as her Dad. :(
This was such a powerful post... A very tragic accident indeed. What a beautiful legacy he leaves. A true hero. Bless your entire family in this time of loss. We are from Riverside so we got all of this first hand too. My heart goes out to you.
I don't really have words...I'm so sorry. His daughter...
I can't even type anything, but it didn't feel right not to. Again, I'm so sorry about what happened. Senseless, it seems, and yet he was willing to pay such a price for others.
I am so sorry for your family's loss. It is so heart breaking.
BIG HUGS
So Sorry for you loss :(
Your collage is touching and vibrant. Such a hero!
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