{"id":1109,"date":"2016-06-17T20:52:59","date_gmt":"2016-06-17T20:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madd.org\/tennessee\/?p=1109"},"modified":"2022-05-30T10:13:52","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T10:13:52","slug":"why-were-here-rachel-lynch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madd.org\/tennessee\/why-were-here-rachel-lynch\/","title":{"rendered":"Why We’re Here: Rachel Lynch"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\"RachelA sweet angel \u2013 over and over, those are the words used to describe Rachel Nichole Lynch.\u00a0 At 17, she had already made an incredible impact on so many as a role model and a good friend.\u00a0 She had a way with younger girls.\u00a0 They looked up to her and she treated them as equals.\u00a0 Often mothers would comment about the huge difference Rachel had made in their daughters\u2019 lives.<\/p>

She was a thoughtful and caring friend.\u00a0 She always seemed to notice when an extra bit of encouragement was needed and would go out of her way to lift a friend\u2019s spirits.\u00a0 Her mother, Jennifer, said if she had to choose one word to describe Rachel, it would be \u201cwise.\u201d\u00a0 She was wise beyond her years.\u00a0 Rachel and her mom shared a special relationship, one that went beyond mother and daughter to best friends.\u00a0 They loved spending time together:\u00a0 shopping, eating out, and going to concerts.\u00a0 But more importantly, they easily talked about anything and everything.\u00a0 It was a rare gift her mother treasured.<\/p>

\"RachelRachel enjoyed golf and had been an avid competitive swimmer from a very young age.\u00a0 But her true passion was in music and theater.\u00a0 She had an amazing talent for technical production and sound engineering.\u00a0 She had worked backstage for the Briarcrest Christian School Fine Arts Department and was planning to serve as the Band Manager for the Briarcrest SoundScape Band her senior year.\u00a0 She dreamed of going to college and working in the music industry as a band manager or running sound for live concerts.<\/p>

But those dreams would never come true.\u00a0 Little more than a week after school let out her junior year, Rachel joined three other girls on a beach trip to celebrate her friend, Caroline\u2019s 18th birthday.\u00a0 Caroline\u2019s grandmother had offered to drive the girls from their home, just outside of Memphis, south to the beach.\u00a0 They left at about 6am on Sunday, May 31, 2015.\u00a0 But around 6:30am, a repeat drunk driver with a BAC of .14 rear-ended their van causing it to flip and hit a utility pole.\u00a0 Rachel and Maddie Kruse<\/a>, both sitting in the back row, were killed in the crash.\u00a0 Kara Holden sustained a broken collarbone and broken ribs.\u00a0 Caroline Kam and her grandmother had minor physical injuries but emotional scars that would last a lifetime.\u00a0 The man who hit them had been convicted 5 times for DUI and was out on bond for a 6th DUI arrest when he hit them, making the crash his 7th DUI.<\/p>

\"\"Rachel\u2019s father, Matthew, talks about how the crash has crippled their family.\u00a0 Her older brother Justin, says, \u201cEvery day I have to remind myself she is gone.\u00a0 Every day I have to force myself to go on for her.\u201d\u00a0 Her mother, Jennifer, said \u201cAs parents we have lost our dreams of watching her turn 18, graduate from high school, then college, fall in love, get married.\u00a0 It breaks my heart every time I think that my husband will never get to walk Rachel down the aisle\u2026 We have been robbed of an entire future with our daughter.\u00a0 Our family will never be the same.\u201d<\/p>

One thing that has changed is that the Lynch\u2019s have vowed that they will continue to fight for stronger DUI laws that force better communication and record keeping among districts and states to ensure that offenders such as the one that took their daughter are held accountable for their actions.\u00a0 They have lobbied in both\u00a0Tennessee<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>and Mississippi for improvements to DUI laws.\u00a0 Their story and the Kruse\u2019s story was the inspiration for the\u00a0DUI Reporting Act of 2016\u00a0<\/a>introduced to the United States Congress by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee) and U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) which would withhold federal funding from states that fail to require reporting of all DUI arrest and conviction records to NCIC.\u00a0 Both families will be supporting the bill, which is also endorsed by MADD, as it is reviewed in the coming months.<\/p>

Rachel\u2019s loss was felt by an entire community who shared in an immense heart break at her tragic passing.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But it is the memory of her sweet spirit, her adorable personality, and her beautiful smile that unites them.\u00a0 Rachel was indeed an angel who lives on in the hearts and minds of all who were ever blessed to know her and one who has even touched innumerable lives of those who never had the pleasure of meeting her in person but who have come to know her through the love she left behind.<\/p>

\"Briarcrest<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A sweet angel \u2013 over and over, those are the words used to describe Rachel Nichole Lynch.\u00a0 At 17, she had already made an incredible impact on so many as… Continue reading Why We’re Here: Rachel Lynch<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9,11],"tags":[4,6,7,8,10],"class_list":["post-1109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-victim-stories","category-why-were-here","tag-nomorevictimstn","tag-drunk-driving","tag-impaired-driving","tag-tennessee-victims","tag-voices-of-victims","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy We're Here: Rachel Lynch - Affiliate Tennessee<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/madd.org\/tennessee\/why-were-here-rachel-lynch\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why We're Here: Rachel Lynch - 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