SALT LAKE CITY—Jordin Petersen Seamons, her husband Devin and their 2-year-old Lily had a happy, wonderful life until the night of Dec. 23, 2018 when a car accident took Devin’s life and seriously injured Jordin and Lily. The family was headed from their home in Smithfield to see the lights on Temple Square with family when they were hit by a drowsy driver who fell asleep and hit the Seamons’ car head-on.

“Our life was just so, so good,” said Seamons. “In a matter of seconds our whole life changed forever when a car crossed four lanes of traffic. The girl had stayed up until 4:30 a.m. out with friends and got up at 7:30 a.m. and hit us head on which from there we proceeded to roll six times. My husband passed away within minutes.”

“We were in a car accident,” said Lily Seamons. “This lady was sleeping and she hit us and my dad died. I miss my daddy.”

Jordin Seamons shared her story at a Zero Fatalities event Memorial Day weekend to mark the beginning of the 100 Deadliest Days, the time period during the summer when fatalities are usually the highest. So far there have been 116 fatalities this year, the highest they have been in more than 20 years at this time of year. There were 108 by the same date in 2021 and 86 in 2020, according to the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS).

“Reckless behaviors like driving impaired, aggressive or distracted are costing innocent people their lives,” said John Gleason, UDOT Public Relations Director. “Summer should be a time for making happy memories and we want Utahns to get to their travel destinations. But in order to do that, everyone on the road must drive safely. That means buckling up, obeying the speed limit and focusing on the road.”

“My entire life fell apart because of someone else’s choice,” said Jordin. “It was something that never should have happened and could have been prevented and it wasn’t. I don’t go a day without feeling the depth of that loss. It’s not just you. It’s you and everyone else that’s on the road as well. The next time you get behind that wheel, I beg you to think about the social contract you’re entering. Think about the hundreds of lives that are at stake if you choose to selfishly drive tired or in any other way impaired.”

Jordin said at age 24 she found herself a widow and her 2-year-old daughter without a dad. “All because someone drove drowsy. Because of someone else’s irresponsible choice our entire life was shattered.” l