JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (KSNW) — Today marks 8 years since a crash involving an impaired driver took the lives of a woman and her two kids in Junction City.
Jessica Thompson and her two kids, Leah and Jaydon, died in the 2016 crash. Jessica’s mother, Michelle Martin, has been in contact with Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Ben Gardner since the crash.
Martin recently reached out to Trooper Ben to see if the memorial at the crash site was still there. What followed after, is a heart-touching moment.
Trooper Ben posted online that he found the memorial cross weathered over time and decided to clear the area. He also wrote the three names on a light pole nearby so that their names were still visible and the memory stayed alive. Martin says his gesture touched her on this painful anniversary of her losing her family.
“To lose my only daughter and my only two grandbabies was pretty, pretty brutal. And they say it’s an ache you don’t get over, you know when you have so many regrets of things that you didn’t do or things that you wish you would have said differently,” said Martin.
She added, “Today, when he said he wrote their names on the on the street light pole, just, he’s been a light, you know, to keep the awareness going.”
Martin also said, “I don’t care if it’s drinking alcohol, oil or whatever you’re doing. If you’re impaired, you have no business out on the road. You will change and can forever change. One person’s reality, one person’s goodness, not to mention all of the many, many, many people that this affected.”
The man who caused the crash pleaded guilty to murder and involuntary manslaughter and is currently serving 14 years in prison.
She says she hopes this reminds people of the impact of impaired driving, and she urges everyone to make responsible choices and know those choices can completely change someone’s life as it did for her.