A Texas prom queen whose life had already defied extraordinary odds was killed on the way to her new summer job when her car was rear ended by a commercial truck.
Makynna Eden Tumlinson, from the tiny town of Tom Bean, Texas, about an hour north of Dallas, was killed June 3 on on State Highway 11, the state Department of Public Safety told CBS News.
Her mother, Stephanie Tumlinson, said she and Makynna exchanged what would be their final words just before the young woman took off in her Chevrolet Cruz.
“She was headed to a new job, and we had talked right before she left to go to work,” the mom told local KXII News.
After Makynna’s father, Tommy Tumlinson, checked his daughter’s location and found it at the crash sight, he drove to the scene.
“From that point on, we were just panicking, you know, hoping they got something wrong,” the distraught mother told KXII.
The truck’s driver, 37-year-old Hector Ivan Mejia Garcia of Allen, Texas, was taken a local hospital with suspected minor injuries, the DPS said.
The tragedy was compounded by Makynna’s miraculous start in life, her family said.
“When she was born, we were given a 2% chance that she would make it, that she would be born stillborn,” Stephanie Tumlinson said. “She beat those odds.”
Although Makynna’s life was short, her family said he lived her 18 years to the fullest. She was a cheerleader, student council president and prom queen.
“I’m hoping she’s known for the girl that never turned down a friend, that she would have befriended anyone of all ages.”
Makynna’s senior parking space at her school has become a memorial with flowers, stuffed animals and candles.
And the family is left to grapple with an unimaginable loss.
“Nobody should have to bury their children … I keep thinking that it’s a nightmare that I”m going to wake up from and that she’s going to walk in the door,” added Stephanie Tumlinson.
