At 2:49 pm on January 13, 2019, I got the call no parent wants to receive. It was the bishop’s wife: “Your daughter has been in an accident.” My daughter Erynn, barely 18, was in a car with three other girls, all members of the Laurel class presidency. On their way to welcome a new girl to the ward, the car she was riding in pulled out of the neighborhood and was struck by an oncoming truck, causing injuries to all four girls. Arriving at the scene before paramedics, I was relieved to see them still seated in the car with their eyes open, despite looking very shaken. Unfortunately, my relief was short-lived. Although she appeared unharmed, Erynn would not respond to questions or commands. At the hospital, we were informed that she had a massive compressive skull fracture and bleeding on the brain. She would require immediate surgery.
