After a tragic vehicle accident killed 12-month-old Jaelynn Yarrish of New Jersey, her mother, Jamie, 25, was heartbroken. She was able to find a bit of hope amidst her grief, agreeing to donate Jaelynn's organs, which meant saving the lives of three other babies.
Both Jamie and Jaelynn were in a terrible accident on August 25.
A witness saw the crash happen a few minutes after 10 a.m., noted a press release from the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office.
"A 2005 Mack Conventional Cab dump truck, being operated by forty year old Chad Hines, of Wantage, New Jersey, struck a 2019 Honda Civic driven by a twenty-five year old female Clifton resident who along with a minor passenger were transported to Saint Joseph’s University Medical Center," the statement read.
The truck went on to hit a 2013 Subaru Outback driven by a 54-year-old man from Nutley, and the Civic struck a 2020 Chevrolet Traverse driven by a 35-year-old male Nutley resident, the statement noted.
Jaelynn had just turned 1 on August 15.
Her mother suffered from several fractures and a brain bleed from the incident, but she was expected to make a full recovery, the Daily Voice reported.
Jamie’s cousin, Kimberly Laverty, told the newspaper Tuesday that the young mom had made it through spinal surgery and regained motion throughout her body.
Sadly, Jaelynn suffered from severe injuries and was placed in a medically induced coma.
"Jaelynn is unfortunately showing signs of major brain damage causing medical staff to question her abilities coming out of the medically-induced coma," Laverty wrote on a GoFundMe page she created August 27 for the duo’s medical bills.
Ultimately, Jaelynn succumbed to her injuries, dying on Monday.
On Wednesday, Laverty wrote "Rest in the sweetest of peace Baby Jae."
Laverty told the Daily Voice that Jaelynn’s organs will be donated to three other children in need.
"Jaelynn is a hero," Laverty told the newspaper.
"She saved three children who are no longer in need of organs and life saving surgeries," she added. "These three children have been blessed with beauty and a loving soul. Let us hold our families tight as we can not see the future and won’t know when our time is to come."
Laverty’s GoFundMe page has since raised over $26,000.
On the page she wrote that Jamie was a single mother "who has been working full time to provide her daughter with unconditional love and support."
"Growing up she was a star athlete and always putting her family before anything she ever had," she added.
The family hopes the mom will be able to fully heal.
"Please keep the family in your prayers," Laverty wrote. "Jamie is doing well and is on her road to recovery."
