A TV star was reduced to tears when she spoke to a man who lost his wife and daughter in the American Airlines crash tragedy,
CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins who hosts The Source spoke to an emotional 32 year old Andy Beyer about the loss of his 12 year old daughter Brielle, and her mother, Justyna, aged 42. The pair were among those perished when American Airlines flight 5342 collided with a .us. Army Black Hawk helicopter in the skies of Washington, D. C. on the night of Wednesday, Jan. 29. All 67 victims have now been found following the disaster over the Potomac River, as confirmed by officials.
Throughout the gut-wrenching conversation with Collins, an overwhelmed Andy shared, “I go through these moments of extreme sadness and tears and then I get flat and numb. Then I feel guilty that I’m not just crying all the time, you know? It’s just been hard … really hard.”
Brielle was one of several young skaters returning to D. C. with their families after participating in the .us. Figure Skating National Development Camp in Wichita, Kan. Andy, speaking about his decision to publicly discuss Brielle and Justyna, said, “They, like all the victims, deserve to be remembered. They deserve to have their story known to the world.”
He added: “Everyone dies, right? And they live on through our memories. And I want people to have a memory of them so that they live on. So that’s why I wanted to share their story,” visibly moving Collins who wiped her eyes and briefly paused the interview.
The host responded, “Thank you for doing so, Andy, and I think everyone would be really touched to hear from you, so thank you for coming on to talk about that.”
Andy recounted the harrowing moment he learned about the crash to Collins, saying, “We were supposed to pick them up, me and my son, like we did from these trips all the time.”
He continued: “We were waiting for them nearby Reagan [Washington National Airport] in a parking lot, and we were texting with them right before they were supposed to land and the tracker said landed and the texts went from blue to green and firetrucks started going by and at that point, I knew something was wrong.”
After making a call, it was confirmed that it was indeed Brielle and Justyna’s flight that had crashed. Andy shared that his 6 year old son simply yelled out “No!” upon hearing the news, adding, “It really hurt. That’s how we found out before anything.”
Andy, in his recollection, stated that nothing was really official, “We already knew,” he said. He paid a heartfelt tribute to his daughter Brielle, a member of the Skating Club of Northern Virginia, describing her as “a joy and a gift.”
The grieving father expressed his disbelief at the tragic turn of events, saying, “You just never think something like this could happen to you, and that it could be taken away from you. “He also shared about Brielle’s battle with cancer at a tender age of 4 months, likening the experience to “waking up to a nightmare.”
Despite the ordeal, he admitted there was hope and a sense of relief when she was declared cancer-free. Andy spoke fondly of his wife Justyna, calling her his “soulmate”.
Collins responded with words of support, saying, “You’re clearly both amazing parents, Andy, and I just want you to know that everyone is praying for you and thinking of you in this moment. I know that doesn’t help but everyone is really thinking of you guys.”
A GoFundMe campaign set up by friends to aid Andy and his son has raised nearly $131,400 as of Wednesday, Feb. 5. The page describes the passing of Brielle and Justyna as an “unimaginable loss,” praising Justyna as a “devoted mother” who “sacrificed so much for her family, especially to provide for Brielle’s future, as she was highly talented and would have been an Olympic figure skater.”
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