A Louisiana family that lost three of their nine children in an alcohol-related traffic accident has shared heartbreaking videos of their grieving process, including poignant footage of the parents tending the graves.
Siblings Lindy Simmons, 20, Christopher Simmons, 17, and Kamryn Simmons, 15, were killed by drunk driver John Lundy, 54, in a ghost accident as they drove home from a basketball game days before Christmas 2021.
Their mother Dawn, 57, who was driving her youngest children, was seriously injured but survived, and now says her home has ‘lost its soul’. Christopher’s girlfriend Marissa, 16, was also in the car and survived.
Their sister Katie DeRouen, 31, has since taken to TikTok to show how the tragedy has changed their family’s lives.
“Raising nine kids was always very lively and a place full of laughter,” Dawn told Fox News Digital of her home prior to the crash.
Siblings Lindy Simmons, 20, Christopher Simmons, 17, and Kamryn Simmons, 15, were killed by a drunk driver in December 2021
Their sister has shared heartbreaking footage of the family’s grieving process, including poignant footage of their father tending to the graves
Their sister Katie DeRouen, 31, has since taken to TikTok to show how the tragedy has changed their family’s lives. Parents Dawn and Ray
“And when I go home now, it really is as if my house has lost its soul. The silence is so loud. It’s so loud. When I tell you that every aspect of our lives… is touched in some way by their loss. It touches us every day.’
Katie’s heartbreaking TikTok videos use old clips of late siblings hugging their mom, filling the family home with noise and laughter.
The clips are then contrasted with the family’s current life, in which Dawn and her husband Ray keep the memory of their deceased children alive by tending to both their graves and a memorial on the highway.
A video shows Ray making sure their roadside crosses are weatherproof and have working bright lights.
Another shows the father placing a stone as a chain on Lindy’s image on her grave,
Katie told Fox News Digital that her mother worked as a mail carrier six days a week, but became a retired empty-nester overnight.
Her videos on TikTok showing her family’s grieving process have gone viral, with a video of her father tending to his children’s graves racked up nearly 18 million views since being posted on July 5.
Katie’s TikToks also include images she found on the phone of her late sister Lindy, who was a photographer and a student at Nicholls State University.
Katie told Fox News Digital that her mother worked as a mail carrier six days a week, but became a retired empty-nester overnight. The nine Simmons siblings are pictured together
Katie’s Heartbreaking TikTok Videos Use Old Clips Of Dead Siblings Hugging Their Mother, Filling The Family House With Noise And Laughter
Katie She hopes the videos make people aware of how drunk driving can destroy people’s lives in an instant
A particularly poignant video shows mother Dawn being loved by her deceased child before the video cuts to cleaning their resting places.
She hopes the videos will raise awareness about how drunk driving can destroy people’s lives in an instant.
Lundy’s blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit for driving.
“I think when they see three young, beautiful children all died at the same time and they left their mother behind, that doesn’t happen often. And I think it comes as a shock to them,” she told Fox News Digital.
Lindy was driving the family’s car when they were hit head-on by pickup driver Lundy. They were both killed on impact.
Dawn suffered a bleeding spleen, a punctured lung and two broken ankles.” She also had a torn carotid artery.
Since the tragic accident, she has been going to high schools to talk to children about the dangers of drunk driving.
The family’s nonprofit, Simmons 3, wants to raise awareness of the issue.
“Make decisions in advance, plan ahead, figure out what you need to do to avoid getting behind the wheel drunk. It’s not worth it,’ Dawn said.