BOLINGBROOK, Ill. — A father is devastated and worried about the future of his grandchildren after their mother was struck and killed while pushing her stalled vehicle last month in Bolingbrook.
“This is the worst thing that’s ever happened in my life,” Bob Cawthon told WGN News Wednesday.
Back on Feb. 22, his daughter 30-year-old Jenna Cawthon, of Bolingbrook, was on her way to work when at some point, her car stalled near 107th Street and Joliet Road.
“She was a ‘can do’ person, so she attempted to push her car out of the way,” Bob Cawthon said. “A good Samaritan looked and said, ‘Hey, she needs help.'”
According to a police report Cawthon saw, the witness performed a U-turn, got out of his vehicle and as he was crossing the street to help — Jenna Cawthon was struck from behind and killed.
Her father, who lives near Pittsburgh now, received the phone call nobody wants to get.
“‘Your daughter has passed.’ I was like, ‘What?'” Bob Cawthon said. “It was a shock.”
He said the next thing that ran through his mind was his grandsons — 4-year-old Devyn and 13-year-old Donavan.
The boys were not in vehicle, but now they have to deal with the death of their mother.
“She had enough insurance to handle burial costs, but there’s not a lot,” Bob Cawthon said. “You do not think you’re going to die when you’re 30.”
The boys are now in the custody of their father and Bob Cawthon took to GoFundMe to make sure they are taken care of.
As of Wednesday afternoon, it has raised nearly $9,000.
