Fort Worth-area family devastated as second daughter dies following New Year’s crash
A family who has weathered the loss of one daughter who died in a wreck on New Year’s Day is now mourning the loss of a second daughter pronounced dead on Tuesday.
Evelyn Elaine Beckham, 18, of Burleson, died about 4:25 a.m. while in hospice care, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. The cause of death was listed as blunt-force trauma to the head and chest from the car accident, the medical examiner’s office said.
Evelyn’s sister, Emily Kate Beckham, 20, the second oldest of six siblings, died on New Year’s Day, at the scene of a crash with a large exit sign pole on Interstate 30 in Fort Worth. Evelyn was one of three people in the car who were injured and taken to a local hospital.
According to a GoFundMe post created to defray funeral expenses for the family, Evelyn was in a coma and showing no signs of brain activity following the wreck and was not expected to survive.
The GoFundMe post explains that Emily lost control of her Jeep when she was cut off by a pickup truck.
Evelyn was sitting behind Emily on the driver’s side of the Jeep that took the brunt of the crash, the post said. One of Evelyn Beckham’s sisters said she wrote the post.
Evelyn “suffered numerous injuries and immense brain damage as portions of the jeep caved in,” the post said. “We buried Emily on January the 13th at 11:00 and for over a month now, one of my parents has been by Evelyn’s side around the clock.”
For nearly a month Evelyn’s parents had scanned for signs of movement, the post said.
“Unfortunately, my parents recently realized Evelyn’s recovery isn’t going to take place here,” the post said. “Instead, she’ll be made whole in Heaven with Emily, her sister, protector and best friend.”
A third sister, Renee, spent a week in the hospital and suffers from survivor’s guilt, according to the GoFundMe post.
“It’s the guilt of surviving and the sounds of the crash followed by the deafening silence of her loved ones that haunts her,” the post said.
Emily’s boyfriend was released from the hospital and also is recovering from injuries he sustained in the accident, the post said.
Their home is silent, bereft of the sounds of family, the GoFundMe page says. There is nothing for the family to do except “brace ourselves for the funeral of another sister.”
The GoFundMe post also talks about the many “earthly angels” who arrive when the family’s spirits are at their lowest, when the times are dark, who appear as light to tell the family they are not alone.
“I’ll just pray all the earthly angels that have shown up in so many ways, that have gone the distance with us and still stand, that have prayed and have given us light in so many ways reap ten times the feeling and blessing we’ve received,” the post said. “So, thank you from our hearts for your heart and from your prayer to ours, thank you more than words can say.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 2:19 PM.
