Mom shares pain of families who lost teens in crash

A mom in pueblo shares the pain of the families who lost their teens in an accident Monday.

Beau Begier and Ryan Pappas died in a crash Monday on Hodgen Road and Roller Coaster Road in Black Forest. A third passenger is in the hospital, and the driver was arrested. State patrol believes all four teens were under the influence of alcohol.

Dawn Cortez lost her son Donnie in 2003. She still remembers the day, on June 30, when officers knocked on her door and told her her 24 year-old had been in a crash.

“I did ask the officer, I said, ‘My son didn’t make it, did he?'” She said. “And he said, ‘No, Mrs. Cortez, he died on the scene.'”

Cortez is now a speaker with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

“If I can touch one of their lives, then it’s worth sharing my story,” she said.

Cortez shows photos of Donnie at her presentations, the shoes and clothes he’ll never wear again and two family photos – the last one they took with Donnie and the first one they took without him.

“As a mom, we carry our children and we have that bond with them, and we deliver them. We teach them the best we can, as they’re growing up,” she said. “And so I think for a mom, it’s a little harder.”

Cortez said when she heard of the crash on Monday, she was heartbroken.

“I cried, and I prayed for that family, because I know what they’ll have to endure the rest of their life without their children.” she said. “It’s been 11 years since my Donnie’s gone, but when things like that happen, it touches my heart again. It brings back those feelings again.”

She said she understands what the Begier and Pappas families are going through and will go through.

“The first year is the hardest. It does ease later on, but it’s always there,” she said. “You just have to take it a day at a time. You may celebrate your holidays, you may not, and that’s okay.”

For Cortez, sharing her story, remembering Donnie and treasuring his things have been helpful in healing. But above all else, it’s been her faith getting her through the difficult times.

“Without the Lord in my life, there’s no way I could ever have gotten through what I’ve gotten through,” she said. And she’s confident the Begiers and the Pappas will get through this too.

“I just encourage them to take time and to grieve,” she said. “They’ll be okay, and they will get through the things they need to get through, as I have.”