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Bluebag Media
Surviving tragedy…
the real world doesn’t stop
GREENVILLE – “Take it slow,” said the officer. “You still have one
left.”
Ray C. Stark drove past the wreckage on the way to the hospital. He had
been told there was an accident; he saw what was left of his wife’s
car. “They weren’t going to let me through,” Stark said, “but I told
them I was the husband… I was trying to get to the hospital.”
It never occurred to him to question what the officer meant by his
comment. He was told at Wayne Hospital his youngest daughter, Hannah
Rae, was gone. The officer had referred to 4-year-old Kaylee, who was
with him at the time. He still had one left.
“It was May 1, 2011,” said Danielle Stark. “It was raining. My car
hydroplaned… she (Hannah) was gone instantly. She would have been six
(on May 28 this year).”
Danielle said they buried Hannah on a Friday. “Mother’s Day was Sunday.
It was horrible,” she said. “I (had to be) best man at a friend’s
wedding two weeks later,” Ray added. They acknowledged the period of
intense guilt, and blame… Each blaming the other; her for her driving,
him for making her go out in that weather. He took Kaylee to work;
Danielle was supposed to pick her up.
“I felt worthless,” she said. “I was a failure as a parent and
protector.” Ray quit his job. “I couldn’t bear to pass that scene every
day,” he said. Now he works as a truck driver...
Read the rest of the article at Bluebag Media
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