“It’s Never Going to Be the Same Again”: Father Tracks Phone to Discover Fatal Crash of Teenage Daughters
Karrie Wallace/GoFundMe
The father of two teenage girls who died in a car accident in upstate New York last week learned about the tragedy by tracking their phone’s location. Hailey Trumble, 19, and Shelby Trumble, 17, succumbed to injuries sustained in the Thursday evening crash in Ira, a small town near Syracuse, according to a Facebook post by the sheriff’s office.
Police reported that Hailey was driving a Chevy Cobalt eastbound when it crested a hill, crossed into the opposite lane, and collided with a westbound Jeep Cherokee. The driver of the Jeep was hospitalized with serious injuries and remains in stable condition.
The girls’ father, Brian Trumble, told Syracuse.com that they were heading home from the Seabreeze Amusement Park in Irondequoit when the fatal crash occurred just 3 miles from their Granby home.
“It’s a tremendous loss,” he said. “It’s never going to be the same again.” On the evening of the crash, Brian became worried when neither of his daughters responded to his texts and phone calls. Using Apple’s “Find My” app to track their iPhone locations, he drove to the scene of the crash. By the time he arrived, officers had already sectioned off the roads, and he received the worst news of his life, told People.
“An officer asked what I was doing, what I was looking for,” Brian recounted. “I told him I was looking for my daughters.” Brian and his wife, Tina Trumble, described their daughters as simple country girls who loved animals, crafts, camping, and fishing. The sisters often painted each other’s nails and watched shows like “Gilmore Girls” and “Heartland.”
Shelby had just graduated high school in June, and Hailey had graduated last year. Shelby worked at Reeves Farm Stand in Baldwinsville, while Hailey was set to begin a new daycare job on Monday. “They were everything that you wish you could be,” Tina said. “So full of life. They were loved and so beautiful.”
A GoFundMe page has raised nearly $40,000 as of Tuesday to support the Trumble family’s funeral expenses during this “time of unimaginable loss and need.” A funeral service is scheduled for Saturday, August 10.
