Appreciation for life stems from tragic loss

Three weeks ago, Friday night was no ordinary night for me. The anticipation of going out was not as lively as usual.

It took us about three hours to decide what we should do.

Finally, we decided to go watch a movie at the Emeryville AMC Theater.

It was 9:24 when I got a phone call from my cousin. "Girl, you better hurry up 'cause me and Jackie are coming to get you," she said. "I'm leaving Antioch and I'm going to be there in less than 10 minutes. I'm hitting 120 on the freeway."

I responded with a simple, "OK." It's not that I didn't care, but my cousin has a unique way of joking and likes to exaggerate.

Mom and Dad were acting strange that night. They never oppose me going out, but that night they were skeptical. My mom read me my "cards" while I was getting ready. "Don't drink, don't stay out too late and don't even think of calling me saying you're spending the night somewhere, because I will find you."

I got mad, but I brushed it all off.

The  10-minute wait turned into an hour. I called her phone but got no answer. I fell asleep in the process but was frantically awoken by my mom two hours later.

"Priscilla got in a car accident. Can you get Jackie's house number?"

We didn't have much information except for the fact she had crashed. While waiting for her mom to call with more updates, I received a breaking news update from the Contra Costa Times online.

"One killed in Highway 4 crash."

My heart sunk, my stomach was tied in a knot, and it only got worse as I read further into the article.

According to the Contra Costa Times, at approximately 9:35 p.m., a Nissan Altima was seen speeding before it crashed into a big rig truck near Pacheco Boulevard.

Shortly, we got a phone call from my aunt telling us Jackie died seconds after the accident and Priscilla was at the John Muir Trauma Center in Walnut Creek. She suffered a concussion, a punctured lung and had a couple of bruises on her chest.

While relieved Priscilla was still with us, I was devastated to hear about Jackie. My heart became overwhelmed with wretchedness as I recalled the fact that Jackie had a 3-year-old daughter waiting at home for her.

Despite being worn out from crying and distress, I did not go to sleep that night. I spent most of the night sending my cousin and her family positive vibes and thinking about the tragedy along with a feeling of gratefulness of having met Jackie.

Though I could not see Priscilla that night, I rushed to the hospital as soon as the doctors allowed visitors. The minute I entered her room and saw her lying on that hospital bed, my body became numb.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I gave her a hug and said, "Don't ever do this to us again. I love you way too much to see you like this."

In our early days, the idea of anyone dying only revolved around those who we considered "old." Nowhere in my days as a child or teenager would I have imagined experiencing the loss of someone my age.

Over the last five years, I have lost several friends to violence, car accidents, alcoholism and drug related problems.

Many seem to question our youth's eagerness to grow up and "waste" their lives.

While it is both sad and partly true, this does not apply to everyone. It is not like people wake up and say, "Hey, I want to die today," but they often find or put themselves in bad situations.

I encourage everyone to share wisdom and positive energy with our peers. Love those who are still with us. Deliver messages to others out there so we can decrease the number of young people dying deaths we can prevent.

Rest in peace, Jacklyn Ann Superales.

Diana Reyes is a staff writer for The Advocate. Contact her at dreyes@accentadvocate.com.