An 18-year-old wrestler was involved in a collision that claimed her life in Iowa earlier this month. Her mother found a heartbreaking letter later in her dorm.
Videos by Suggest
Per WHO-DT, on September 13, a two-car collision resulted in the death of two and the injury of four. In Poweshiek County, a Jeep Wrangler, driven by Andrew Buttler, 18, collided with a Jeep Renegade after failing to yield at a stop sign.
Both drivers, alongside two others, suffered injuries. The two backseat passengers of the Wrangler, however, died as a result of the crash. Neither wore their seatbelts.
One of those dead was 18-year-old Aaliyah Martin.
Aaliyah was a young and aspiring wrestler who attended William Penn University in Oskaloosa, who had dreams of becoming a nurse. She and her friends were on their way to a football game before the tragic accident happened.
In her last moments, Aaliyah found herself trapped under the Jeep. She was able to call 911 from her smartwatch, but she would perish before help arrived. Emergency services were able to remove her from under the Jeep and extract her to an ambulance before she passed away.
Tearjerking Letter Found In Aaliyah’s Dorm By Her Mother
Family and friends of Aaliyah spoke to PEOPLE about the ambitious wrestler.
Her mom, Shantell Martin, found a letter tucked away in her nursing uniform in her dorm. Her siblings were together when the letter was found.
Aaliyah wrote the letter for her future self.
Tasha Sanchez, her auntie, spoke of the letter. “Her goals were to become the top of her weight class [for wrestling] in college,” she said. “With nursing, she just wrote that she wanted to be a nurse so she could always help people.”
The selfless intentions of her note reflect her radiant personality as shared by her family.
“You couldn’t help but love her,” said Sanchez, who referred to Aaliyah as a ‘bonus daughter.’
Her professors also left notes in her dorm room for her family. They remembered Aaliyah as a “bright light” with a thirst for knowledge.