‘An incredible heart’: Mom of teen killed in North Park crash shares memory of her beloved daughter
The deadly crash that killed two teenagers is back in the news this week after police charged the teen driver with two counts of homicide by vehicle.
>> 2 teens killed in single-vehicle crash near North Park, police say
Channel 11 exclusively spoke with the mother of Taylor Orlowski, one of the teens who was killed in the crash.
“Her smile, her laugh. Her little giggle is just contagious.”
It’s what Heather McCandless wishes she could hear one more time — the sound of her daughter, Taylor’s, laughter.
>> 18-year-old charged in North Park crash that killed 2 teenage passengers
“She’s an incredible person with an incredible heart. And a passion for what she did, and what she loved,” Heather told Channel 11′s Gabriella DeLuca.
That passion was taking care of, and riding, her horses.
“She had such a love for what she did. You could see that clearly in photos and videos. Just the way that the horses interact with her, and when she interacts with them,” she added.
Eighteen-year-old Taylor Orlowski and 14-year-old Jonathan Tourney were killed just before Christmas in North Park, when police say the teenage driver who they were riding with had been drinking and speeding, then crashed.
The night of the deadly accident, Heather called her daughter because she had missed her curfew.
“The last phone call was me telling her she needed to come home because it was midnight, and she wasn’t home yet. I stayed up that whole night, periodically texting her through the night, ‘What are you doing? Where are you?’ And... nothing.”
That next morning, Heather received the worst news of her life: that Taylor died in the crash.
“The most numbing, overwhelming gut-wrenching thing that any parent can ever be told. Horrible. Just horrible,” she said.
Despite her intense feelings of grief, she’s decided to live for her daughter, which includes taking care of her horses.
“I try to visit them once or twice a week. I know the relationship she had with them. When they give a hug, I feel like in a sense that’s Taylor giving me a hug,” Heather said.
And for her, her daughter serves as a constant reminder that life can change in a moment.
“Keep everyone that you love close to you. You never know when your last day is going to be.”
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