Breya White is distraught that her husband, Tyler White, was killed while attempting to be a good Samaritan. According to Arlington, Texas, police, a man was killed and another woman was critically injured when an SUV collided with them early Saturday. The police found 31-year-old Tyler White and a 42-year-old woman on the ground, both injured.
According to authorities, Tyler White was rushed to the hospital but died, while the woman is still in critical condition.
Tyler White’s wife, Breya White, told NBC News “I’m devastated. I’m in shock. Like, it’s unbelievable.”
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The couple has three children: a 10-year-old boy and two daughters, ages seven and two. “He just loved us. He was such a great daddy. Such a great daddy. I just hate that my babies are not going to be able to experience him moving on in life,” she lamented.
The night before the incident, she and her husband of three years were at a family member’s holiday party when they received a phone call from a friend.
She recounted, “Our friend called, saying his wife’s car slid off the road. So he [Tyler] instantly said, ‘Okay, I’ll go help.’ And then I went with him, and another friend went, and I sat in the back seat, and then when we got there, they started assessing the car.”
She said they parked on the shoulder of the road near the grass as her husband went to get ropes out of the trunk to tow their friend’s 2016 Hyundai Veloster that was stuck in the mud. Breya White said she was chatting with the wife, whose car needed help.
Everything flipped in an instant as Breya White returned to their 2004 GMC Yukon.
“All I see is this bright light, and I hear an engine, and it’s just, ‘boom!’ And then I just slide, the car just slides off, and then she (the friend) just goes down, and I’m just spinning, spinning, spinning,” explained Breya White about the car she was in.
Before paramedics arrived, Breya White discovered Tyler White on the ground and had their other friend do CPR on him.
“He was breathing, so I thought there was hope. I really was so optimistic. I was so optimistic that he was going to make it. I saw the injuries, but I looked past it because he was breathing,” expressed Breya White.
Minutes after she arrived at the hospital, she learned her husband didn’t survive. “I just laid my head on his chest. I just had to do that for a last time, because that would be my last time to kiss him, to lay my head on his chest,” she cried.
Police said first responders had to free the driver of a BMW X1, a 32-year-old woman after it crashed into the Yukon at a high rate of speed. They added that charges are pending based on the investigation. In a news release, it said crash investigators have not ruled out if alcohol may be a factor.
Still, Breya White questioned, “We pulled off the side of the road. Like, how did she even get that far off the road to even hit us?”
Breya White, who has some injuries from the crash, said those injuries are nothing compared to the pain of losing her husband, especially with Christmas less than 12 days away.
She said her husband liked to fish and hunt and planned on taking a trip next April for his birthday. Tyler White was also into aviation and worked as an airplane mechanic.
He was also known for his kind heart and his final moments mirrored his outlook on life.
Breya White is surrounding herself with family and friends as she navigates the heartbreak.
“I just loved him so bad. I loved him so bad, and I just cherish the three years of marriage that we had. I wish it was longer.”
She expressed regret at not postponing their decision to pick their friend up the next day. “This could have been avoided. My husband could still be alive. I regret that we even went out there that night.”
The family is currently concentrating on Tyler White’s funeral plans.
