Burlington mom-to-be killed in head-on crash in U.S.

A young Burlington mom-to-be was killed in a horrific head-on highway crash witnessed by family members who had just avoided the same driver seconds before.

On the night of January 6, Rebecca Vasiljevic was driving home with her family after two weeks in Florida, visiting Disney World. The seven family members were split between two cars. 

Rebecca’s husband Mike was in the car with her. They were driving on Interstate 77 in South Carolina. 

At 9:10 p.m., Rebecca had to swerve out of the way of an oncoming car. She avoided the car by inches, but it continued on the road and hit the car behind her, carrying her mother-in-law, Wendy Lehman, and sister-in-law, Jessy Dawson. The family was visiting Disney to support Wendy, 68, who had celebrated a birthday on Jan 4, lost her husband in July, and whose anniversary was Jan 1. 

The cars made contact at approximately 120 km/h. 

Jessy died after five days on life support on January 11. She was 33, and three months pregnant. 

“We pulled over on the side of the road, we had walkie talkies to talk between the cars,” Rebecca said. “I screamed into the walkie talkie, screaming their names a few times and they weren’t answering. That’s when Mike jumped out of the car and ran to the accident.”

The two were transported to a nearby hospital. Through her stay, Jessy suffered multiple strokes that impacted her brain stem, Mike said, adding she was essentially brain dead. Wendy suffered a brain bleed, pseudoaneurysm, a broken sternum, and seven broken ribs. 

Wendy is still recovering in Myrtle Beach, as she has not been cleared to fly home. Mike stuck around for a while with his mother, as Rebecca returned home to Canada with the kids. Various family members are taking turns staying with Wendy in South Carolina.

Mike is going back and forth in five day increments. 

Jessy, an organ donor, was cremated following the removal of her kidneys and heart valves. Her ashes are still with her mother in Myrtle Beach. 

A reiki master and yoga instructor, Jessy was a healer for others. 

“She had so much love for everybody, she just wanted to help people,” Rebecca said. “It wasn’t her time to go.”

Police told the family that the other driver died at the scene of the crash. 

Though they now live in Beamsville, Rebecca and Mike grew up in Burlington, as does Jessy's fiance Norbert – who left the trip a few days earlier than the rest of the group. 

Wendy is recovering well, getting stronger every day and working to recover her memory after a catastrophic brain injury. 

Mike set up a GoFundMe page to help cover medical expenses, which are currently around $40,000 and expected to continue to rise. 

At the time of writing, the campaign has raised $27,500 from 330 donations. Anyone wishing to donate can click here.

Groups such as the Burlington Dads and Joe Dogs have already supported the family, and donated through other efforts. 

According to news reports in Fairfield County, the wrong-way driver, who was south-bound in the north-bound lane, was a 43-year-old woman from Columbia. She was the lone occupant of a Ford SUV.