After Loss, Family Paves the Way to Keep Young Drivers On Right Path
By: Maria Chandler WMBD/WYZZ TV
Updated: September 12, 2012
MELVIN- Lately, you've heard a lot about us telling you "wait to text"
Well, if you haven't changed your habits, yet, the family you're about to meet is hoping they can convince you.
It's a story of heartbreak and re-purpose, and learning to live again.
Meeting this upbeat farm family, you would never guess something ten years ago brought their world to a tragic halt.
"When the boys left for school that morning for school, I did what I usually did. I went to the door and I remember watching them buckle their seat belts and saying be careful," explains mom Bonnie Arends.
"It wasn't much longer after they left that Randy heard sirens," she says. "He heard the sirens and had just a sinking feeling inside. Just a sure feeling that something had gone wrong."
There had been a car crash.
The Arends' twin sons were in that car.
"We had to drive by the crash site on the way and to see what was left of the car, we realized without anyone telling us, that we had probably lost at least one son and maybe both of them," says Bonnie.
Greg was in pep band, Steven was into basketball and cars.
The two were incredibly close.
They were planning the future, their car veered off the road...everything evaporated.
"I'll never forget driving up to the hospital and seeing two ambulances parked there," says Bonnie.
Their son Greg didn't survive the crash.
Steven was severely injured and in a coma for months.
For Steven, it's been a long recovery.
Leaving him unable to walk and talk easily.
But despite brain injuries, he still remembers life with his brother.
Ever since the accident, when the family does speak about what happened, they make sure they're serving a greater purpose.
"We knew when the accident happened that our lives had changed," says dad Randy Arends. "And we didn't know what direction that was gonna go. We knew that Greg had a strong faith. There was a purpose for what happened."
Greg's death and Steven's injuries have been a catalyst to keep others away from distracted driving, texting and driving.
It wasn't a cause in his crash, but Steven still knows how deadly texting can be.
"Hey, it's not worth your life. Forget about the text," says Steven Arends, the twin brother who survived the crash.
He and his father have spoken at dozens of schools, in several states, reaching more than 20,000 kids.
"If we make one kid think twice, it's worth going out and doing it," explains Randy.
Life after the crash has left the Arendses all searching for a new purpose and passion.
Most importantly, they say they want to keep others from the loss that's caused them so much pain, and also so much hope.
The loss that drastically turned their lives around.
"You just don't want another parent, another family, another community to suffer through the agony of watching one of their own recover, if that's possible," says Bonnie.
When they're not farming, the Arendses are traveling around the state sending their message to students.
A majority of their presentations are done right here, in central Illinois schools.
Well, if you haven't changed your habits, yet, the family you're about to meet is hoping they can convince you.
It's a story of heartbreak and re-purpose, and learning to live again.
Meeting this upbeat farm family, you would never guess something ten years ago brought their world to a tragic halt.
"When the boys left for school that morning for school, I did what I usually did. I went to the door and I remember watching them buckle their seat belts and saying be careful," explains mom Bonnie Arends.
"It wasn't much longer after they left that Randy heard sirens," she says. "He heard the sirens and had just a sinking feeling inside. Just a sure feeling that something had gone wrong."
There had been a car crash.
The Arends' twin sons were in that car.
"We had to drive by the crash site on the way and to see what was left of the car, we realized without anyone telling us, that we had probably lost at least one son and maybe both of them," says Bonnie.
Greg was in pep band, Steven was into basketball and cars.
The two were incredibly close.
They were planning the future, their car veered off the road...everything evaporated.
"I'll never forget driving up to the hospital and seeing two ambulances parked there," says Bonnie.
Their son Greg didn't survive the crash.
Steven was severely injured and in a coma for months.
For Steven, it's been a long recovery.
Leaving him unable to walk and talk easily.
But despite brain injuries, he still remembers life with his brother.
Ever since the accident, when the family does speak about what happened, they make sure they're serving a greater purpose.
"We knew when the accident happened that our lives had changed," says dad Randy Arends. "And we didn't know what direction that was gonna go. We knew that Greg had a strong faith. There was a purpose for what happened."
Greg's death and Steven's injuries have been a catalyst to keep others away from distracted driving, texting and driving.
It wasn't a cause in his crash, but Steven still knows how deadly texting can be.
"Hey, it's not worth your life. Forget about the text," says Steven Arends, the twin brother who survived the crash.
He and his father have spoken at dozens of schools, in several states, reaching more than 20,000 kids.
"If we make one kid think twice, it's worth going out and doing it," explains Randy.
Life after the crash has left the Arendses all searching for a new purpose and passion.
Most importantly, they say they want to keep others from the loss that's caused them so much pain, and also so much hope.
The loss that drastically turned their lives around.
"You just don't want another parent, another family, another community to suffer through the agony of watching one of their own recover, if that's possible," says Bonnie.
When they're not farming, the Arendses are traveling around the state sending their message to students.
A majority of their presentations are done right here, in central Illinois schools.
