Candice Ann Person

It was April 14, 1989…a Friday night. My sister, Candi was driving home. She had been up most of the night studying for college exams and had worked a long shift at a grocery store. It was around 5:30PM and it was a perfectly warm Spring day. She fell asleep while driving her truck. She was on a 2 lane road and crossed over the center line crashing head-on with another vehicle. Candi was killed instantly at the age of 18… just 3 months shy of turning 19. Ironically, the car she crashed into was filled with family members- our cousin Carrie, her mother, and my cousin Curt’s girlfriend Sarah. They were all on their way to watch Curt play in a high school baseball game. Curt was on a bus with the rest of the team when they came upon the accident. He instantly recognized his mom’s car, but didn’t know that Candi had died in the other vehicle. Thankfully no one else died, but they did have serious inuries.

I was 13 at the time…just 6 days from my 14th birthday. The county coroner came to our door that night around 8:00PM. He asked to talk to my parents and I knew something was wrong. The rest of the night is a blur for me, but I do remember going through a manilla folder containing some of Candi’s personal belongings. I remember standing at the sink wiping blood from her watch. Not a single day goes by where I don’t miss my sister. I wish she would have been more careful about her driving that night. But you better believe I WILL NEVER DRIVE WHEN I AM TIRED!

— Heidi Anderson