‘We all just want answers’: Family speaks out after mother, son killed in crash
“We’re trying to stay strong while we are trying to pick up the pieces for her children, but we’re also trying to do it for ourselves.”
ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Ill. (First Alert 4) - A family is left grieving after burying a mother and son, and a daughter is left fighting for her life after a crash earlier this month. The family is staying strong for the child left behind, but they want answers as to why the driver involved was even behind the wheel.
“We all just want answers on how this can happen ... we don’t want it to happen to anybody,” said Amanda Emmerich.
Emmerich and her family are seeking answers after a head-on collision killed her 37-year-old sister Ashley and her 10-year-old nephew Jacob and left her 3-year-old niece fighting for her life in the hospital.
“These 11 days have just felt like a blur; it doesn’t feel real,” said Emmerich.
The crash happened March 17 on US Route 50, West of Clinton County Line Road.
The driver was also pronounced dead.
“We did get a preliminary report. There were two eyewitnesses, so on there it said he was weaving in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed and entered my sister’s lane and hit her head on,” said Emmerich.
The St. Clair County coroner confirmed that 21-year-old Blaise Nowak was in the other vehicle involved. Court records show he had multiple traffic violations dating back to 2021, including a DUI. In 2022, the court sentenced Nowak to 12 months of supervision and alcohol treatment.
“We just don’t know how he was still behind a wheel, it should have never happened,” said Emmerich.
The only person who survived the crash was her 3-year-old niece Gracie. She has a traumatic brain injury, multiple skull fractures, and broken bones.
“We feel like the justice system did fail my sister and her children. We’re trying to figure out how we can change this so it doesn’t have to happen to anybody else,” said Emmerich.
The link to buy a shirt in memory of Ashley and Jacob and Gracie can be found here.
The link to the family’s GoFundMe can be found here.
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