A group of text messages is being used by Mathieu Fortin, the boyfriend of a car accident victim, in an effort to warn others to pay attention while behind the wheel. Fortin created a Facebook page specifically to spread the word about his girlfriend, Emy Brochu, who passed away on January 18. Her car crashed into the back of a tractor-trailer when it was merging into traffic near Victoriaville, Quebec. Brochu had been texting Fortin, sending him messages of love, before sending him the final one. The final text message read, “I love you too and I will do all I can to make you happy.”
Fortin posted the next round of text messages on the Facebook page, with one of them saying he wanted to “hear her beautiful voice.” The group of texts then grew very fearful because Fortin did not hear from Brochu for a couple of hours.
“Is everything going well, my love?” Fortin wrote. “I’m a bit worried.”
Police investigating the accident did not reveal a cause of the accident right away but they did mention the possibility of Brochu being distracted while driving, which is where the texting could come into play.
“The police investigation showed the use of a cellphone while driving was the cause of the accident,” Fortin said on the Facebook page. “This conclusion came as a shock because during the tragedy, I was in a discussion with her.”
Fortin has said that when he reads her final messages his heart is shattered into millions of pieces and he urges others to learn from his heartbreaking story.
“An accident can happen quickly,” Fortin said. “I hope every time you look at your cellphone while you’re driving, you think of Emy and those who loved her.
“At what time is a text or an email more important than life itself? At what point is something on your phone more important than the people that you love?”
Brochu was described by Fortin as a determined, beautiful woman who had an excellent future in front of her. Fortin has urged his family and friends to send his message to all they know in an effort to save lives from distracted driving. The message posted on the Facebook page received hundreds of responses and promises that they would spread the word as well. The majority of the posts on the Facebook page created by Fortin are text messages that were exchanged between the couple.