Our lives changed in an instant when my wife, Christine, and I were injured in a car crash while driving our daughter to swim class. I was relatively fortunate, requiring only chiropractic care for about a year. Christine, however, suffered a devastating back injury that eventually required surgery.

Having already lost two dear friends to separate crashes in the past, this crash struck an even deeper chord. The dangers of our roadways were no longer abstract—they had now directly impacted our family three times.

The most heartbreaking aspect for Christine, a mother deeply devoted to our family, was being unable to pick up our daughter. Her work as a nanny became nearly impossible as she struggled even to lift the baby in her care.

Though we survived this traumatic chapter in our lives, it reinforced the harsh reality of traffic violence and unacceptable road conditions that claim too many lives. Our previous losses had taught us how fragile life is, but experiencing it firsthand drove that lesson home with painful clarity.

Take nothing for granted. Cherish every precious moment with your loved ones, for as I’ve learned through both personal experience and heartbreaking loss, life can change in an instant.

Mom was the kind of person who always seemed to know what you needed before you even had to ask. Whether it was making sure our school supplies were bought before the first day of school or noticing when we were feeling down and offering just the right words to lift us up, she had an intuitive way of caring for everyone around her. Her attention to detail was one of her most beautiful traits—she made sure we always felt loved, supported, and understood. She had this incredible gift of making you feel special, as if you were the most important person in her world, even on the most ordinary of days. Mom taught us the value of kindness, the importance of looking out for one another, and most of all, how to love deeply and without hesitation. 

Though my heart aches every day from her absence, I find peace in knowing that her spirit lives on in all of us. My mom was more than just the sum of her actions—she was love in human form, and I see pieces of her in each of her grandchildren, in my sister Crystal, and even in myself. She was the best mom we could have asked for.

That’s why, even though her life was tragically cut short by a distracted driver, I choose to focus on all the ways she made the world a better place while she was here. By sharing her story, I hope to help prevent other families from experiencing the same heartbreak we did. Pedestrian safety is crucial, and it shouldn’t take a loss like ours for action to be taken. Just a month after she died, a crosswalk with caution lights was installed where she was struck. I only wish it had been there sooner.

Mom, I know you’re watching over us, and I hope you can feel just how deeply you are—and always will be—loved. Your legacy of love, selflessness, and kindness will never fade. We miss you every day, but we carry your lessons and your love with us, always.

With all my love,
Angel

A driver failed to obey a traffic signal and ran through a red light. 

She was in the intersection protecting kiddos crossing 13th street and Michigan Avenue. Rebecca was able to get her children out of the way but was struck by the vehicle, seriously injured and thankfully survived. 

She was seriously hurt and has had a long road of recovery, but as you can see, she is still dressed for duty! 

Protecting her students is her “Why” for her work! 

Osceola County calls Rebecca, “one of their very special heroes.”

“She is an amazing woman, and many others just like her, make sure that precious students safely make it across intersections and streets on their way to and from school.”

We are so grateful that Rebecca has lived to talk about her passion, her injury and that she has the courage to go back out to that same intersection and make sure that no one on her watch gets hit by an inattentive driver. 

We all have a choice to end a life or save a life! Let’s slow down and protect amazing Crossing Guards, who are modern day heroes, like Rebecca who are utilizing their passion to protect our most vulnerable road users; our children just walking to and from school!  

This is the 21^st Father’s Day that I will once again spend without my oldest son, Mark. 

I am most certain we would have been planning which NASCAR track we would be “hitting” next.

Unfortunately, there are no more Father’s Days with my son, no more NASCAR races, no more laughs and certainly no more memories to make. 

I miss my son terribly and the decision of one person in less than a moment to not pay attention to a simple safety law ended time with my son. 

As Mark’s dad, I can tell you that no parent should ever have to endure the pain my wife, Gwen and I have suffered. 

The hole in our hearts will never heal but we press on in hope that our message will be heard through Melissa, (our daughter in law) as she advocates for Roadway safety commitments, programs, and The Mark Wandall Foundation. 

As a Dad, I can tell you that Mark was everything a parent could ever ask for and then some. Our time was so special and he is tragically missed. 

I was at the crash site and witnessed our son in the car and I take that vision to bed every night because of an inattentive driver. 

The personal repercussions from this crash are ten-fold.

By writing this message about my son, who he was, and who we will never hug again; I plead with all drivers to recognize that we are driving “weapons.” That we all have a responsibility to keep each other and all road users safe on our roadways. 

If we can reach just one person, it will profoundly save a life. 

We want to mitigate the opportunity to inflict this type of horrific emotional pain on anyone due to poor driving habits.

We all have the opportunity to be safe, mindful drivers if we choose. When we choose safety over risky behavior we save lives. 

We can all be unintentional violators and take a life at any moment. We are the ones who can stop this type of behavior.

I am pleading with you on this Father’s Day and every day to be mindful while driving so you do not take someone else’s son-shine away. 

Bud Wandall, Marks Dad

“Brad Deanda” is much more than a name on a road marker to me. In case you were wondering, a road marker is a sign on the road that reminds people to drive safely, and the sign reads the name of a person whose life was lost due to theirs or someone else’s unsafe driving choices. I never knew what a road marker was until I learned that my uncle’s name was going to be on one. It’s such a nice honor for his name to be on one of these signs, but his name deserves to be seen in so many more places today.

My uncle’s name deserves to be included in a group text for a night out or worn on his fireman’s badge, not appearing on a sign that so many people will pass by each day without giving it a second thought. My uncle saved so many lives, but it only took one person to end his, because of another person’s poor decision made in a split second. The next time you see a road marker, please remember the person behind it and the life that was lost in order for it to be put up.

My uncle was a hero who lit up every room he was in with his amazing stories. This road marker that he has left behind tells a story too. It’s a much sadder story than the ones he used to tell, but it has a lesson- to make good decisions while driving. I wish more people would take away the lesson from my uncle’s story instead of learning it the hard way, themselves. Hopefully, this road marker will remind people of the consequences of careless driving so fewer road markers will have to be put up in the future.

My son Anthony was my best friend. If you met Anthony, you liked him. If you knew Anthony, you loved him. He was just a joyful person. He seemed to understand in every moment what the situation required. 

He was the kid his friends would call when they needed advice.

Anthony’s senior project was to write a letter to an underclassman who would first open it years later when they graduated. 

His friend Chloe, who was a sophomore at the time, received the letter two years after Anthony wrote it and six months after he had been killed by a texting driver.

All of Anthony’s charisma and energy came through that letter. It was like he spoke to me from beyond the grave. 

I got part of it tattooed on my arm: “Nothing is impossible. Impossible is a word used by the weak to justify giving up. Never give up.” I can’t see it any other way except that my son achieved the impossible. He crossed the threshold between life and death to remind me that nothing is impossible — including this mission to end distracted driving for good. 

I was going on a ride, training for my next Triathalon.

Riding on West Palmetto Park Road in Boca Raton, between US 441 and Loggers Run park. It is a 2 lane road in each direction, with no bike lane or shoulder.

I rode this route once a week for 9 years!

I was riding at 20mph, hugging the white line on the right, when a 71 year old man going 50mph struck me from behind. After the impact, I was thrown forward and luckily landed on a large grassy swale.

I heard a horrible Sound

Next thing I new I was lying in the grass face down unable to move.

The Driver DID stop and called the police. A friend of mine who happened to be riding by stopped to check on me. I asked him to call my wife.

Shortly afterward the paramedics arrived and secured me to a board and took me right to Delray Medical Trauma Center.

The Driver Said He Never Saw Me?

Every other car that passed me had no trouble seeing the bright red flashing strobe on my bike and moving into the other lane.

The damage to his car was extensive! My body lurched backwards with the back of my head hitting up by the top hood while his bumper hit me in the lower back and launched the bicycle and myself.

The paramedics thought I would be paralyzed.

My next stop was in the hospital.

The X-ray and CT scan showed that I had the following:
*Three compression fractures of the vertebrae in the lower spine L1-L3
*One fractured vertebrae in my neck, but so much trauma that they had to bring in a spine specialist and perform a 5 level cervical fusion of vertebrae C3-C7.

I spent 15 days in the hospital!

*I was hit on October 18, 2022.
*I had surgery on October 21st, 2022.
*I was transferred to the rehab wing of the hospital, October 24th.
*I was DETERMINED that I would WALK out of the Hospital.
*On November 1, 2022, I walked out of the hospital and went home.
*For the next 3 months I was in a body and neck brace.

My next Goal Was to Get Back What I Lost!

I never lost my sense of humor! I thought going into a bouncy house was good for my rehab. My wife would have killed me first!

As bad as my injuries were, the toll it took on my wife and daughters was immense.
I had an amazing support group of family, work and friends who stood by and encouraged me.

My Race Continues

Within 6 months I was riding a bike (only on the gravel trails along the Everglades levee) and running. I still have more work to go!

I will not give up!

The doctors were amazed at my ability to recover from such a horrific injury.

My only wish is that no one else has to go through what I went through.

A simple bike lane and people paying attention to all road users, while driving would have prevented this!

I miss him every day! The heartbreak is unbearable on most days.

I use my days to find ways to make our Florida roads safer for everyone in Joshua’s name.

I do not want one more person to die and I want to curb behaviors in any way that I can.

Thank you for reading about my son. I want to share some things that he loved to do!

Joshua was a Painter by trade. He enjoyed swimming from childhood, and God give him many gifts one was singing and as an adult, he sang in many bands.

He loved Alabama football! “Go, Roll Tide.” He also loved the Boston Bruins hockey team.

Since Joshua’s childhood, we did a lot of fundraising to include skate-a-thons and he won a TV and a Bike in different years!

He loved roller skating!  Just like I did at his age!

As an adult, in 2014, he raised money for a woman with cancer by singing with his band. This was the last concert I was able to go to for my talented son.

My Joshua loved to joke around and he would have a serious side also. Rainman, the movie came out in 1988 and my Joshua could sound just like Raymond.  He was NOT making fun of it at all, he knew all the work I did over the years with handicapped people but this is a memory I will never forget. He was also a scout just like me through the years!

Joshua loved wrestling and we would go see the locals in Crestview.

Then one time, in 1988 we went to a WWF Wresting in Hershey, PA

A cherished and funny memory was seeing Ted Dibiase and Andre’ The Giant in Hershey, Pennsylvania! They would throw money in the arena and Joshua was grabbing and stuffing his pockets and said “Mom, hide this money.” I knew it was fake but they still wanted it back!  The look on Josh’s face, I will always remember. He was such a funny kid! I miss him.

Joshua loved art! He could draw almost anything, he made me a coffee holder and a unicorn in woodshop in high school!

He had a sense of humor and a big heart! He even talked a few of his friends out of suicide.

When he was little my grandpa always gave him lollipops, and when Joshua’s great-grandpa passed away we would go to the grave and Joshua would say “ Grandpa, here is a lollipop for you!”

Thank you for allowing me to share the beauty in my son behind his roadside marker.

All of these memories take me back! It is still so surreal today that Joshua, my son is gone from this earth, from my reach, from my arms. I need his hugs to help me through this.

In less than a moment, my lovely son was killed in a hit-and-run. There are no more memories to make. Please everyone stay safe, and make good decisions on our roadways; this Mama is begging you.