"I just can’t believe it’s real,” his mother said of her son's death.
The mother of a California teen, Wesley Welling, who was slain in front of his sister after a driver rammed his car into a gathering of students on April 18, is recalling her last words to him. The 15-year-old boy died on his mother's birthday. The last thing his mother, Kelly Welling, told him was, "'I'm proud of you. I love you. Have a good day'." She said she learned of her son's death through her daughter, Hannah, who was only a few feet away when the 15-year-old was plowed down by a motorist in front of Westlake High School in Thousand Oaks, as reported by ABC7 News.
Mom of California teen Wesley Welling killed by crazed driver recalls her last words to him https://t.co/7XaUTby9qP pic.twitter.com/4iX8TWzuUY
— New York Post (@nypost) April 20, 2023
“I get the call from my daughter Hannah. There was an accident and he was unconscious and they were doing CPR and they did CPR the whole way to the hospital,” Welling said as she recalled the horrific day when she lost her beloved son. “That is where he passed. By some miracle, my daughter wasn’t standing right next to him because it could have been both of them,” she added.
Austin Eis who is 24 years old, reportedly purposely plowed his car into Wesley and others while they were waiting for the bus with other Westlake High School students. Eis, who police claimed was homeless, reportedly went on a spree earlier at a Walmart in Simi Valley. The accused had allegedly attacked two employees, one of whom was injured.
According to the Ventura County Star, Wesley's sister reported she heard the Toyota Camry skidding and that "everything happened so fast." The mother who is concerned about the impact of the accident on the sister of the victim shares that she worries about her daughter. “I’m just concerned about his sister because she witnessed the accident. I just can’t believe it’s real,” she said, not able to believe that she has lost Wesley forever. “I’m expecting him to walk down the stairs and still hear his voice,” she added with a heavy heart.
“Everybody loved him. I’m finding out how many more people loved him than I already knew about from this whole thing,” she told reporters. She also stated that she is preparing for her son's burial after her own sister died last week, according to NBC Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, April 19, Welling traveled to the crash site with Hannah and her other son, Cody, where a memorial of flowers and letters had grown in front of the school. Christian Morales, a 14-year-old freshman, claimed his mother picked him up from the collision scene after the crash. “I was unsure of what happened. I thought it was just an accident,” he said. “He was a very kind, smart person. He was always looking out for others, putting people before himself. He never caused any harm to anyone. He was always just calm, playful,” he added as he missed Wesley.
A GoFundMe page set up in memory of Wesley Welling has raised over $235,000 to date.
References:
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/thousand-oaks-crash-westlake-high-school-student/3138312/
Cover Image Source: GoFundMe
