A 35-year-old Illinois man, Dennis Lewis, was so excited over becoming a father that he traveled to the hospital to spend more time with his newborn daughter. On the way back home, however, he was killed in a car crash.
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As reported by PEOPLE, the incident occurred on Friday, July 18. At the time, the proud father had just seen his newborn daughter, Harley, the previous night. This coincided with the discharge of his girlfriend and the child’s mother, Amberly Trocke.
However, he felt he couldn’t be away from Harley. So, he decided to visit her at the Highland Park Hospital hours before the planned pickup time.
At the time, Trocke was with her older daughter, Davine Jade, waiting for Lews at their Round Lake Beach home. The man texted how Harley woke up to the sound of his voice, and Trocke, excited, waited for the man to come home. He never did, and the mother of two became increasingly worried.
Eventually, a friend drove Trocke to the hospital with Davina. The mother began calling hospitals, asking if there was a patient with her boyfriend’s name.
“He was not the kind of person you had to worry about,” Trocke told PEOPLE. “So, I knew in my heart something was wrong.”
When Trocke was returning home with Harley and Davina, she received a call from Lewis’s mother. She had been alerted to an accident. Trocke called police and was told that officers would meet her at her home.
As per the outlet, that’s when Trocke knew Lewis was dead.
“I was just screaming, crying, and I called my mom,” Trocke said. “My [older] daughter is holding her ears, saying her ears hurt, but I couldn’t help it because I was just so upset.”
Fatal Crash
Turns out, while on the way to the hospital, Dennis Lewis was involved in a fatal crash. According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), the crash occurred at around 2:35 p.m.
Lews, driving a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, was traveling westbound on Route 176 and approached Bradley Road. The traffic light was green, according to witness statements.
Then, as per the LCSO, a truck driven by a 50-year-old driver allegedly turned left to go northbound on Bradley Road. This placed the truck in front of Lewis, and a collision occurred. Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene.
Now, Amberly Trocke, Davina, and Harley are mourning the death of a beloved man and father. Heartbreakingly, not only did Lewis plan to adopt Davina, who wasn’t his biological daughter, but he also planned to propose to Trocke once their daughter was born.
“It just hurts that we didn’t get to finish that part of our life,” Trocke said, adding that Lewis is now “protecting us from above.”
A GoFundMe was set up to raise funds to support Trocke and Harley throughout this difficult time.
“Dennis was a kind, hardworking, and loving man who had just stepped into fatherhood with so much hope and love in his heart,” the fundraiser read. “We want to honor him by ensuring his baby girl is surrounded by the support he would have given her every day.”