Part of this post is from Jessica's MADD tribute page that I setup and wrote a few months back. I felt it only right to include it here.
The last time I spoke with my sister was just before 1 AM that morning, barely over an hour before everything would forever change. I got onto her about not calling me back earlier that day and told her she would really have to work on letting me know if a plan changed so I wouldn't be waiting around like I had been. Yes, I said it. The last conversation I had with my sister, I was yelling at her about not calling me back. I know, I know it is something I should not keep dreading upon; yet still, it is one thing I can't keep out of my mind. She mocked me back with "OK mother" as she had many other times before when I would instruct her with my opinions on various topics. She had a way of making you not stay mad at her no matter how hard you tried. She did it with her smile, she did it with her brown hazel eyes, and she also did it with the spark in her voice. On this same night, she did it to me for the last time she ever would... with her one of a kind vocals. So as she casually changed the subject and told me about the multimedia picture she had received of her daughter, my niece, riding on a circus elephant earlier that evening and how happy she looked, I also could picture Jessica's smile. She told me she was about to leave the place of the bar-b-q party that she had attended since earlier that day. We talked about going to church together later that morning. She was avid on having me attend for the first time, and finally, I had agreed to go. Prior, I had only been in a church for 3 different types of occasions: vacation bible school for 1 week during the summer, a wedding, or a funeral. Back and forth we exchanged the words "I'm Serious... We're really going" and "I'll see you in a few hours". Our final conversation ended with exchanged "I Love You" 's. Perhaps never before had that phrase ever been as significant as it was that last time.
The rest of that night for me, was one of the longest ones of my life. I couldn't figure out what was keeping me on edge, but it was something. I kept trying to dismiss the feeling that was going on inside me. I remember I played the song "Dear John" by Taylor Swift over and over and over. I unloaded the dishwasher and reloaded it with the dirty ones from the sink. Again I tried to ride off the feeling. So I got on the computer. I sent Jessica a Facebook message again telling her about having to work on letting me know if she changed a plan so I wouldn't be left lingering on the old plan. I Google'd the Walmart Black Friday Ad to check out what would be on sale. I wanted to get Jessica an iPod for Christmas, so I started bidding on one I liked for her and a few other items as well. I rejected the feeling I was experiencing to be about my dad, my mom, and both of my brothers. For some reason, I didn't feel a link to them. I was stuck on a sisterly vibe. I dismissed it to be Jessica, 'cuz afterall, I had spoken with her an hour before and, everything was just fine. I started leaning on the idea that whatever I was feeling had something to do with my half-sister that had been adopted before I was born who I had only met 1 time back when I was 12. We only had spoken by phone, text, email, and facebook since. So since I hadn't communicated with her in a few months, I went back to the Facebook URL and found her page. I sent her a message to see how she was doing and what her plans for Thanksgiving were. I sat for a while, tried to watch a movie on Netflix, but I couldn't give enough attention to the movie so I turned it off and sat for a while. Still antsy, I rearranged the kitchen cabinets. It was the strangest sensation going through me. When I was done with that, I sat back on the couch still wondering what to make of it all.
By this time, it was just after 6 AM, and I got a call from my mother. I thought 'she never calls this early and never on a Sunday morning'. Something was wrong and looking back it seems immediately, I just knew it was Jessica. I didn't know what it was, but I knew it was her. As my mother told me "Shelbie, Jessica was in an accident last night... And she didn't make it", I rose to my feet in panic and disbelief. Shaking my head I remember saying no and running up the stairs to my brother and sister-in-law. I literally couldn't catch my breath. I was breathing but oxygen wasn't going to my lungs it felt. My wails woke them up and they met me at the top of the stairs. Without even knowing why yet, my sister-in-law started crying with me. My brother kept asking "What What What" but I couldn't speak the horrid news to save my life. I handed the phone to my brother Josh. As he was getting the same information that I had just received not even 30 seconds before, I half stuttered what my mother had just told me. I wanted to puke. For the next few hours, I was in shock and disbelief. We all were.
I want you to know that this might not be something all can read without being offended or thinking it to be somewhat morbid, but I think it is important to present all readers with a paradigm to paint a clear picture of this tragic event.
In the early morning hours of Sunday, November 21, 2010, my sister, Jessica Beatty, had a blow out on her 93 civic while with her childhood friend. Stranded on a country road, her and her friend who was driving sat and waited with the car's headlights and flasher lights on. Going through their cell phones, they called several people they knew for help, but could not get in touch with anyone in time. After a few vehicles had past them and did not offer assistance, they discussed possibly trying to flag down the next vehicle that would approach.
At approximately 2:15 AM, Jessica saw a vehicle coming up ahead and got out of her car to flag the oncoming vehicle down. From this point on, it is unknown to exactly what happened, other than that she was hit by a young man driving a 2000 Ford F150 with a grille guard. The young man, aged 19, was over the state of Texas' legal limit for driving under the influence of alcohol. He blew a .18 at the scene. We were told that Jessica sustained enough of a blow that she went instantly, hit so hard, that her poor body came right out of her tennis shoes. This I am thankful for, because the thought of her laying there in that ditch begging for her last breath or calling out for her 4 year old daughter that she left behind is unbearable. Her friend heard the impact and got out of the driver's seat and began frantically looking for Jessica. After running up and down the road frantically, he found her laying face down on her right side next to a culvert. Turning her over and seeing her eyes wide open and that smile that made Jessica unique gone from her face, her friend began CPR on her lifeless body after calling 911. She was officially "pronounced dead" at the scene by a bell county JP. They "called it" at 2:40 AM. She was 24. From what we know, this is at least the young man's 2nd offense for driving while intoxicated.
