Survivor Of Deadly Deerfield Beach Crash Shares Story Of Losing Daughter, Mother
DEERFIELD BEACH (CBSMiami) – Michele Baker is out of the hospital after a deadly head on car crash Saturday afternoon in Deerfield Beach left her injured while killing her daughter Breanha, 17, and her mother Robyn Underwood, 61.
"I don't know how to deal with losing her," Baker said. "Either of them. I don't know how to deal with it."
Baker has bruises, cuts and staples on her body. She says the physical scars will heal. The emotional ones are a different story.
"I could've handled anything, anything thrown at me," Baker said. "[But] not [the death of] my Bree. Not my mom. Not my mom and Bree."
Baker said she doesn't remember the crash, which occurred on West Hillsboro Boulevard around 6:30 Saturday afternoon.
Baker said her daughter was driving their car with her mother in the backseat while she sat in the passenger seat.
"I remember waking up in the trauma room," Baker said. "I don't remember anything else."
What she does remember is someone telling her that her daughter and mother didn't make it.
"It was like they just took the soul out of my body," Baker said.
The Broward Sheriff's Office says the driver who hit them, Andrea Schneider, is suspected of driving at a high rate of speed when she lost control of her car, crossed a median and hit them and two other cars head-on.
CBS4 News obtained Schneider's driving record.
Her driver's license is valid and she has a number of violations over the past few years, including operating a motor vehicle without a driver's license and driving while her license was canceled, revoked or suspended.
Florida Department of Corrections records also show Schneider is on state probation for misdemeanor trespassing until the end of July.
CBS4 News went to a Palm Beach County address listed for Schneider but a woman who answered the door refused to speak with a reporter.
No charges have been filed in the crash. The Broward Sheriff's Office says the investigation is ongoing.
CBS4 News met with Michele Baker and her husband, Jason, at a Coral Springs park where Breanha would often go to sit on a swing and spend time thinking.
"She would walk down here and she would sit and she would think," Baker said.
Baker said Breanha had a bright future. She had done two years of high school in one year, was a senior at Coral Glades and wanted a career where she could help others.
She considered nursing and social work, among other options.
Her mom said Breanha devoted her time to helping former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students who transferred to her school after last year's shooting.
"They were still traumatized," Baker said. "She would speak with them and they became her friends. She would help them through their anxiety and grief."
But most of all Baker said Breanha left people smiling whenever she met them.
"She'd make best friends with 80 year olds," Baker said. "She'd come to my work and make best friends with them. And she'd make sure they got a hug. They had to give her a hug before she left or they weren't making it out the door."
For the Baker family, losing this vibrant teen on the cusp of adulthood is devastating.
"You ripped not just my life away," Baker said. "You ripped the good that she could have done away from everybody."
Baker said her mom and daughter shared a bond that was beyond special.
"I loved the fact that they were that close," she said. "They were like two giddy teenagers half the time."
Robyn Underwood was the type of woman who would help anyone in need and make it her mission to help single mothers, her daughter told us.
"She was there to help people," Baker said. "If she was here right now and you said that you needed something, she would track down somebody who had that thing, explain your situation and get that thing for you."
Baker is left with a lifetime of what-if's and is grief-stricken that she doesn't recall the what happened in the accident.
"What if she was alive for 30 seconds? I don't know. I can't say goodbye," Baker said through tears. "If I could have stopped it myself, I would have. If I could have taken their place, easily, no problem."
Breanha's family has set up a Gofundme account to pay for a remembrance service and for funeral expenses. If you want to donate, click here.