Brooklynn Newville wrote down her bucket list on a piece of paper. It included seeing a moose, jumping off a cliff into a swimming hole, and visiting an ice bar in Alaska.
Sadly, the nine-year-old girl and her little brother Jace, who was 5, were killed before she could complete any of the wishes on her list. Their parents found the list months after she died.
Keep reading to learn more about the heartbreaking list left behind by this sweet child.
In 2017, Linda Irie, 50, was driving on the Turner Turnpike near Wellston, Oklahoma, with her three grandkids: five-year-old Jace, nine-year-old Brooklynn (or Brookie) Newville, and their cousin, six-year-old Isabella Anthony. They were on their way to pick up a baby lamb for Easter photos.
According to local news, the family, from Norman, were rear ended by A 17-year-old man, forcing Irie’s “car to collide with two other vehicles. Officials told the family evidence indicates the driver was reading a text at the time.”
The only survivor was little Isabella. The other three were pronounced dead at the scene.
“We’ve had to move a couple of times. I can’t really walk into the house anymore and see where the kids used to be,” said Brian Newville, the father of Brooklynn and Jace.
Their mother Shaneé, who has since separated from Brian, shared an emotional Facebook post: “Being alive is hard. I wake up and cry, take a shower and cry, put on my makeup and cry.” Shaneé, a photographer, also lost her mom in the crash. She continued, “The people who loved me the most are gone. It feels like God took them on vacation with Mima. But it isn’t the truth, they are never coming back.”
Many months later, as the parents were clearing out Brooklynn’s room, they discovered something that somewhat helped ease their unspeakable pain.
It was a bucket list, handwritten by Brooklynn, filled with things she wished to see or do before she died.
The young girl’s bucket list included a wide variety of wishes, such as seeing a moose, scuba diving, getting a drone, visiting an ice bar in Alaska, and seeing the Golden Gate Bridge.
“She always wanted to go hunting with me,” Brian says, choking on his tears. “She never got the chance.”
Although there are no social media updates on fulfilling their daughter’s bucket list, the parents announced that they planned to live out Brookie’s dreams for her—no matter how long it takes.
In 2018, Noah DeDear from Durango, Colorado, was charged with three counts of manslaughter after being accused of causing the crash that killed Irie and her two grandchildren.
At the time of the crash, Noah DeDear was just days away from his 18th birthday and is now facing trial as an adult.
Police reports reveal that DeDear admitted to sending a text moments before the crash. He denied reading two messages that came through from his grandmother and girlfriend.
In 2019, frustrated with the courts’ continued delays, Brian told News 4, “This doesn’t make any sense. How can someone kill three innocent lives, two children and a grandmother, and still be allowed to walk free, while the family is sitting here in pain, agony, wanting closure and we can’t get it.”
In February 2021, the family shared on Facebook that jury selection was finally starting.
Meanwhile, the parents are making an important plea to the public to simply put down their phones.
“We are putting out our campaign, Put it Down, so people will put their phones down,” Brian says. “It doesn’t matter if it’s your phone, or food, it’s anything in the car, while you’re driving: Put it down.”
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