Featured Image Credit: KCTV
Topics: Cars, Health, Social Media, Weddings
Emily Brown
A selfie of two women grinning at the camera captures a moment of happiness before tragedy unfolded in a fatal incident while they were driving.
Collette Moreno was on her way to her bachelorette party with her best friend, Ashley Theobald, when they snapped the selfie that later became used by news outlets across the country.
The pair were traveling towards the Lake of the Ozarks on Missouri Highway 5 on June 20, 2014, and decided to take the selfie that showed Collette sitting in the passenger seat, and Ashley driving in heart-shaped sunglasses.
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The two women looked happy and excited to be marking the moment on the run-up to Ashley's wedding, which was just five weeks away, but they had no idea what would happen just eight minutes later.
As they continued along the road, listening to Taylor Swift, the pair began to struggle with the fumes that were pouring out of the truck in front of them.
It was impacting their breathing and aggravating Collette's asthma, but the double yellow lines on the road meant the pair couldn't pass.
Collette began to tear up, so Ashley peeked her head around the truck and noted that the road looked clear ahead. She turned into the lane for oncoming traffic and began to move past the truck - but as she did so, another car appeared towards them,
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According to My Fox 8, Ashley later recalled: “We both thought it was clear and there was a hill that neither one of us saw. I tried to go around and there was a truck coming and I swerved and he swerved with me.”
As both cars attempted to avoid each other, they collided and came to a stop at the side of the road.
Ashley initially didn't think Collette looked to be badly injured, and while speaking after the crash she remembered how her friend was 'nodding' at her.
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"I didn’t know it was as bad as it was because she wasn’t physically super beaten-up," she said.
The crash was reported and Collette was taken to hospital, but just a few hours later she sadly died from her injuries, leaving behind her soon-to-be husband and her five-year-old son.
Collette's fiancé, Jesse Arcobasso, told Fox the little boy didn't 'quite understand' why his mom wasn't coming home, adding: “I know it’s going to take time.”
Collette's mom added that her daughter's death felt like a 'messed-up dream'.
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“I just couldn’t believe it. I still can’t," she said at the time.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact The Compassionate Friends on (877) 969-0010.