Our Story

On December 17, 2021, our family’s world shattered.

Dawn Simmons and her three youngest children, Lindy (20), Christopher (17), and Kamryn (15), were driving home from a basketball game in Monroe, Louisiana. Christopher played for Acadiana Christian School, and his team was undefeated for the first time in school history. His girlfriend, Marissa, was with them.

On the way home, they were struck head-on by a wrong-way driver traveling at 80 to 90 miles per hour on I-49 South. The man behind the wheel, John Lundy, was intoxicated. The crash happened at 9:01 p.m.

Katie’s Recount

At 10:29 p.m., I got a call from my dad. I was at a Christmas party. He said, “Mom got in a wreck. It’s not looking good, but she’s stable.”

I rushed to the hospital, still believing my siblings would be okay. I thought, if Mom is stable, the kids are probably fine too. They’re young. They’ll bounce back.

Nothing could have prepared us for what came next.

At Lafayette General, we learned two people had died in the crash. I convinced myself they were in the other car. There was no way God would take one of my siblings. When we learned the other car had only one occupant, my heart dropped.

My mom arrived with severe injuries. She had a bleeding spleen, a punctured lung, two broken legs, broken ribs, a dissected artery, and more. Marissa also had serious injuries, but both of them were alive.

My siblings were not at the hospital. We called every hospital we could think of. What we didn’t realize was that they were listed as unknown patients. Their names weren’t showing up anywhere.

At Opelousas General, a nurse told me they had someone from a car accident I could come identify. I expected to walk in and see one of my siblings in a hospital bed. Instead, they unzipped a body bag.

It was Kamryn.

We asked where the others were. The nurse left and came back saying there was a young man at Bunkie General. I felt a small wave of relief. That must be Christopher.

But the nurse shook his head. No.

It was too much to understand. I had to identify all three of my siblings. I saw my baby brother lifeless in a hospital bed. His nose was purple. The breathing tube was still in his mouth. My sister Lindy was still at the scene because they couldn’t remove her from the car.

We went from believing our mom was stable to learning that all three of the babies in our family were gone.

My dad lost his three youngest children. My mom was unconscious and didn’t even know yet. Telling her would become one of the most painful things we would ever face.

This is why Simmons 3 exists.

To honor Lindy, Christopher, and Kamryn.
To raise awareness about the consequences of impaired driving.
To help protect other families from the same kind of pain.

Our lives changed forever in a matter of seconds. If sharing our story prevents one crash, one injury, or one family from living this nightmare, then their names will continue to make a difference.