Hearts are broken: Community reels over family tragedy
By Kate Miller, Record Staff Writer
Posted 11/7/19
The community is still reeling after a drunk and distracted driver careened into David and Jennifer Beaird’s family car Monday, Sept. 5, killing their two children and seriously injuring them. A …
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Hearts are broken: Community reels over family tragedy
Posted
By Kate Miller, Record Staff Writer
The community is still reeling after a drunk and distracted driver careened into David and Jennifer Beaird’s family car Monday, Sept. 5, killing their two children and seriously injuring them.A week later, Jessica Beumel has started a GoFundMe page — www.gofundme.com/beairdfamily — on behalf of Jennifer Beaird.“We are starting this account to help with expenses that are and will be occurring from the horrible tragedy,” Beumel said. Those include hotel stays, food expenses, funerals and any hospital bills that will be flowing in.“We ask that you all continue to pray for the Beaird family and we will keep you all updated as we get new information,” she said.Friends and strangers are commenting on the site, offering charity and prayers — anything to help when a community feels helpless — and the children’s classmates are being cared for at school while they grieve.The GoFundMe page goal was set at $50,000. In its first four days, 461 people had donated $25,559.According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Beaird family was eastbound on Interstate 70 about 6 p.m. Labor Day, just west of Adam’s Dairy Parkway in Blue Springs, when their compact sedan was rear-ended by a SUV.Gavin, 13, and Chloe, 7, who attended schools in the Warrenton School District, were killed in the crash. David, 39, and Jennifer, 37, were seriously injured and taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. Jennifer was treated and released. David, who is paralyzed, is expected to leave the hospital shortly.The driver, allegedly drunk, had his cruise control engaged and was operating his cellphone when the accident happened, according to the patrol.“People need to know cellphones are not important,” said Weymouth Brown, a co-worker with Jennifer. She said people mistakenly think they’re taking their own lives into their hands when they do that, but they forget they’re also responsible for the people around them.“There’s nothing that this couple could have done differently that could have changed anything,” Brown said. “The biggest thing our community can do right now is pray,” said Brown.Jennifer, from New York, is a tax specialist at H&R Block in Warrenton and Lake St. Louis. Brown works with her at the Warrenton location during the busy tax season.Brown said the family moved to Warrenton and they enjoyed the community and the environment.“David hunts and their son was involved with that. The guys did Boy Scouts and the girls did Girl Scouts,” Brown said. “They were very good parents. They cared deeply about each other and their children. They were very involved with what their kids were doing.”Brown said the family recently took a dream vacation together.“This past summer the family went to Disney World. They planned all winter for this trip and the way she and David talked about it, and it was the vacation of a lifetime. They went all out. They loved every minute of it,” Brown said.In the Warrenton School District where Gavin and Chloe were students, hearts are broken.“We’re trying to meet the emotional needs of students and staff and especially the needs of the family,” said Jim Chandler, superintendent.Chandler said thoughts and prayers are with the Beairds. At the schools, protocols are in place to handle tragedies. Counselors, outside help, therapy dogs and other resources are available as needed in the classrooms or one-on-one with students and staff.“We give students an opportunity to express themselves and grieve, to try to get some understanding about what has happened and help them work through their emotions,” said Chandler.Chandler urged parents who need help talking to their kids about the loss of their friends and classmates to contact the school for assistance.The accident took lives and changed lives, from everyone involved in the accident to those who care about the people who were hurt.The SUV driver, James Green, 60, of Odessa, faces six felony charges: two counts of murder in the second degree, two counts of assault in the second degree, one count DWI and one count driving while revoked/suspended. Green’s bond was set at $200,000. The court ordered him not to drive and to surrender license plates for all the vehicles he owns. The court also has prohibited him from having contact with the victims’ family members.Visitation services for Chloe and Gavin will be held Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, at Pitman Funeral Home, Warrenton, from 1:30-6 p.m. The funeral services will be held Monday, Sept. 19, 2-16, at Pitman Funeral Home, at 11 a.m.
Comfort dogs from Lutheran Church Charities and their handlers visit Warrenton schools where the Beaird children attended to offer comfort to students who have been affected by the tragedy. Jana Todd photo.
