The call came at 8:46 p.m. There had been a crash…
Ashten and her new friend, Sarada, left together on the quad to care for Ashten's horse that had just had surgery.
Both Jody and Cathy, the girls' mothers, reminded them to wear helmets, goggles, gloves, and boots.
Ashten and Sarada tended to the sick horse and played with some puppies. At 8:15 p.m. they left to go home. The two girls went around a blind corner on a narrow, gravel road and hit an oncoming vehicle.
Ashten was driving the quad and was thrown into the vehicle. Sarada was thrown into the windshield and bounced off, landing 20 feet away.
Ashten did not have a pulse…Sarada was unconscious.
Who was Ashten?
(words provided by Jody, Ashten’s mom)
Ashten was the girl who didn't make it. Ashten was the girl who died at the scene. That is how she has been described by people who didn't know her. To those who did, Ashten was larger than life. She was a loving daughter and sister, and a kind and generous friend.
Most people, however, knew Ashten as an amazing hockey player, who by the age of 13 was on scouting lists and had been offered a scholarship to go to a private school in Ontario to lead their hockey team. There are great stories behind Ashten's life; she crammed a lot into her short 15 years.
All that ended abruptly, September 12, 2006.
I wasn't there to hold her hand if she was scared, or to say goodbye.
Ashten was 15 years of age when she died.
Who is Sarada?
(words provided by Cathy, Sarada's mom)
Sarada was air lifted to the Stollery Children's Hospital. She was in a coma for 11 days and had to learn to talk, eat, and walk - all over again.
Sarada broke some of her facial bones, crushed her T7 vertebrae, and had several small lesions in her brain.
Sarada was in the hospital for two and a half months.
She is deaf in her left ear. She struggles with survivor guilt over her friend Ashten. She has short term memory problems and works hard at school every day.
With great determination, Sarada has rejoined her hockey team and is back on the ice.
Sarada was 12 years of age when she suffered serious, life changing injuries.
