As Jesse grew into a toddler you would expect Kelly to complain about him getting into her stuff, but she never did.She looked out for him from day one.She was very proud of the fact that she had a baby brother, and he liked having an older sister to look out for him.The two of them never grew apart.
As Jesse continued to grow, his likes and dislikes were known by all because he never hesitated to let you know what they were.He loved camping from the first time he ever slept in a tent in his my backyard.He also loved motorcycles,3 wheelers, four wheelers and dragsters.He never cared much for school.School was one of those things he did because he had no choice.Jesse was raised for the most part in a Baptist church.He was baptisted for the first time when he was 8 years old.
As he grew into a teenager the church was still a big part of his life.He went to church every chance he got even if it meant he had to walk, which he did often.His love for camping and dragsters was still very strong.He went camping everytime he got the chance and he also convinced his dad on a regular basis to take him to the drag strip.
In 1999 we all saw a big change in Jesse.He re-entered school after taking a little time off simply because he could.When he went back to school, he really went back. He was making good grades and actually seemed to be enjoying it.He had even begun to talk about going into the service or possibly college.He also was baptized for the second time.We believe this was done so Jesse could show his friends he was taking charge of his life and he was headed in the right direction.
November 17, 1999 started out like most days.Jesse went to school and apon returning home he spent the afternoon with his dad.They spent their time painting Jesse's bike.They had supper and when Jesse was finished he started out the door to go to church.It was Wednesday night and Jesse always went to church on Wednesday night.Before leaving his dads house he told him he would be home around 8:30pm and that he loved him and April.Jesse's dad tried to get Jesse to let him drive him to church but Jesse wanted to take his bike and show it off.So out the door he went.Within minutes of the door shutting, James (Jesse'sdad) and April (Jesse's stepmom)heard trucks coming down the road at a high rate of speed.From their kitchen table they could see them.By the time the trucks were in view one of them appeared to have blown an engine because it looked like a ball of fire going down the road.They looked and listened, they heard the truck hit a tree and roll.At this time they flew out the house to see who it was and if everyone was OK.April reached the highway first, she found the front tire of Jesse's bike and began to yell for him.Next she found a shoe.At this time she turned James around and told him to go call 911.About the same time so discovered Jesse in the ditch.You see the ball of fire they saw, wasn't fire at all, it was the sparks from Jesse's bike being pushed down the highway by a 4000 lb truck.This is the day my hell began.
Since this awful day in November of '99 many things have changed in the lives of Jesse's family. One of the hardest things we have had to endure since that night and besides the funeral was the trial of Thomas Edward Swain.
At the trial we learned details of that night that we probably would have prefered not to know.We learned that the estimated speed of Mr. Swains truck at the time it struck and killed Jesse was approximately 100 mph.We also learned that by calculations his blood alcohol level at the time of impact was approximately 0.10.In the state of North Carolina 0.08 is considered legally drunk.After reliving that horrible night over and over again during the trial that lasted 6 days we finally had a verdict on the 6th day.On April 9th of 2001 at aproximately 11:45 am the jury returned a guilty verdict, finding Thomas Edward Swain guilty of second degree murder.He was sentenced to no less than 180 months and no more than 225 months in jail.
This according to some should end my nightmare and I at this point should be ready to move on.I can tell you this trial or the sentence did very little for me.I am glad the trial is over but no matter how many days Mr. Swain spends in jail it won't bring my baby back or make living without him an easier.
Click here to read a little more about Jesse
