‘I’m not ready to let her go’: Mother shares stories of daughter killed in Guilford County crash
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GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A mother is sharing her story after her 7-year-old daughter died in a crash in Guilford County over the weekend.
“My wrists are broken. I’m in casts,” Shea Requejo-Croft said from her hospital bed Monday afternoon. She held up two tightly wrapped casts that go up to the elbow.
Her leg is also wrapped up after having being set by doctors Saturday afternoon.
She hasn’t moved much from the bed since she got there, only to be taken in and out of surgery.
“I have to go into another surgery tomorrow, and then I’ll have to go through physical therapy,” Shea said.
While painful, it doesn’t compare to the heartache she and her family feel with the loss of 7-year old Juliana.
“I’m not ready to let her go,” Shea said.
Saturday afternoon Shea, her husband, Luis Requejo, their 9-year old daughter and 7-year old daughter Juliana left their house to make a run to the store. They were going to pick up feed for their family farm.
As they traveled north on Harlow Drive, a person driving in the opposite direction lost control of his vehicle.
Home security showed the truck hydroplaned and spun sideways into Shea’s lane of travel.
With no chance for either vehicle to stop, they crashed in a manner that troopers described as being “violent.”
The cars meshed together with much of the truck pushed into the front of the Requejo’s vehicle.
People from the homes in the area rushed to rescue the people involved.
Danny Wilson was one of those people.
“I ran over…and I couldn’t get to the door,” Wilson said.
He described how he could hear Shea and her husband yelling in the car. He and others had to cut their way into the car where he pulled Juliana from her car seat.
Another person immediately began CPR.
“I just want to tell them thank you so, so much for trying,” Shea said. “I really do. For not being scared and just going up there and trying to do everything they could and comforting my other daughter.”
Her oldest daughter escaped with only bruises.
Shea says her daughters were very close.
They were homeschooled and were around each other all the time.
Shea says Juliana’s personality was amazing.
“One of my favorite things about her is she would always use these really big words that you wouldn’t expect a little girl to know…She loved to bake. She would always talk about when she grew up she wanted to own a bakeshop,” Shea said.
Her specialties were cookies and cakes.
Her lessons included learning patience and being able to slow down.
“Juliana always enjoyed the smaller things. She taught me…to always stop and smell the flowers,” Shea said.
Juliana was a miracle child for Shea and her husband.
“The doctors told me at a very young age that I couldn’t have kids,” Shea said.
She’s now hoping that her little miracle can be a big miracle to other families in the form of being an organ donor.
“I’m glad that I’m able to do this,” Shea said. “If I can save any parent the agony of what I’m going through, then I would.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Juliana’s family and share more of her story.
Charges are still pending in this case.
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