AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — Two weeks after a deadly crash involving a Regional Transportation District bus in Aurora, the mother of Tamara Speed is speaking out for the first time.
Through tears, 71-year-old Sarah Speed says she’s still reeling from the loss of her daughter, and now she’s stepping in to care for her granddaughter’s 1-year-old baby, who was seriously injured in the crash.
Police are still investigating whether speed or intoxication were factors in the crash. However, Sarah is still trying to figure out how it all happened.
“I keep tracing back, trying to figure it out, but I can’t. I let God handle it every day I asked God for one day at a time,” she said.
Aurora police say Tamara had just left a family dispute when she drove off with her daughter in the car, unrestrained, and crashed into a city bus, ejecting both of them from the vehicle.
“It wasn’t really a bad situation,” Sarah said. “I think that Tammy was just going through a depression. She was getting a lot of pressure from the baby’s father in another state.”
Sarah says the crash happened just minutes after she came home from work, and her daughter didn’t seem like herself.
“If I could bring her back, I would just fall down on the ground and I would grab her and stop her from going out the door,” said Sarah with tears in her eyes.
Tamara’s baby was hospitalized with scrapes and burns but survived. Now, Sarah, at 71 years old, is stepping in as her primary caregiver while trying to find stable work.
“So, right now I’m searching for a job, something that accommodates me and the baby,” she said.
Tamara was more than just a victim in a crash. She was a nurse, a mother of three, and Sarah’s youngest daughter. The one who helped her through heart failure.
“She was an LPN nurse,” said Sarah. “She was my caretaker, and I was depending on her to be there with me until the end.”
Now Sarah’s message is one of both grief and gratitude.
“Every time you wake up, tell each other you love them,” she said. “Try to avoid any type of Domestic arguments or anything. It’s not worth it.”
Sarah says her granddaughter is slowly healing and her family has set up a GoFundMe to help with the 1-year-old’s future.
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