Rebecca Woodburn Age 10

On October 28th, while travelling to a softball tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C. I became forever affected by Rebecca Woodburn. She and her aunt were northbound on I-77, between mile markers 6and 7, north of Marietta, Ohio, when the aunt lost control of her vehicle, apparently hydroplaning on the wet roadway crossing the median into the path of a southbound semi tractor trailer.

The aunt was ejected from the vehicle and little Rebecca Woodburn, age 10, was hopelessly trapped in the Mitsubishi convertible. I was stopped about 30 cars back from the accident unaware of how my life would be impacted by such a young child.

The sirens came and went, while we waited for the wreckage to be cleared from the roadway. Most of the people were out of their vehicles. With my police experience in accident investigation, I knew within a few minutes this would be a long wait and many people would be affected by this tragic event.

There was a nice couple in a van next to me and we talked about what little we could see from our vantage point. The man in the truck parked in front of me could do nothing but complain about his delay. I prayed that I wouldn't just go over and slap him stupid. Instead, we talked about how thankful we should be and how we all needed to think about those who were involved.

It was through Google, I learned that the accident was a fatality. Not until later that evening, did I find out that the fatality was Rebecca Woodburn, age 10. She was trapped in the car and died as a result of the accident. A little girl who will be mourned by her classmates, never go to a prom, marry, have children and all because of this accident. A needless loss of life.

Further follow-up reading about the accident, I was disturbed by comments made in response to the article. One woman wrote that she had been on the telephone with a witness who indicated that the woman driving the car in which little Rebecca Woodburn was riding was "texting" when the accident happened. Surely this can't be true. Could Rebecca Woodburn have lost her life because of a text message?

I pray that the families of those involved will find comfort in their faith and know that others are thinking about them as well. Travelling on I-77 SB near Marietta, Ohio will always remind me of how precious life is and how quickly it is lost, Rebecca Woodburn, age 10.