Slain Teen Emily Shane Remembered One Good Deed At A Time
MALIBU (CBS) — It has been nearly one year since 13-year-old Emily Rose Shane was killed by a suicidal driver on PCH in Malibu.
"I really do suffer everyday, I miss her everyday and I think about her a lot," Ellen Shane said.
When Ellen and Michel Shane lost their 13-year-old daughter Emily, they say the world lost her smile and spirit.
"She was the kid who if you were sitting alone at lunch she would invite you over. If you were new to the school, didn't matter if you were in 6th grade or 10th grade, she befriended you and showed you the ropes," Michel said.
On the evening of April 3, 2010, Emily was walking from a friend's house on the shoulder of PCH in Malibu. A driver going 70-miles an hour, wildly weaving, crashed into her. Emily's father was waiting to pick her up at a meeting point, when her mother got a call from authorities.
"He said, 'we have to airlift your daughter, there has been an accident.' As soon as he said that, my heart sank. I said, 'oh my God, is it serious?' He said 'yes,'" Ellen recalled.
"I passed the accident, I looked over saw the overturned car. I said, well Emily was supposed to be there, but no, there is no way... So we stood out there and then they came out and they told us she was dead. That was April 3rd at 6 o'clock and our lives have changed ever since," Michel said with tears in his eyes.
Since that day the Shanes have turned sorrow into strength, launching a "pass it forward" campaign, urging 100 million people to commit good deeds and document them on Emily's website.
"I remember Ellen saying, 'Why didn't you just say one million?' Because one million feels like you can get it, 100 million would change the world."
The Shanes invited us into Emily's bedroom -- for the most part untouched nearly a year after her death, except for the messages written on her mirror by friends. They have not even removed two kisses Emily left on a sliding glass door.
Stuffed animals capture her youth, handwritten quotes her curious mind. Her parents have now started a foundation to raise money for free tutoring for other kids, who have learning challenges like Emily did.
The notes of support and letters about Emily have helped ease the pain of the justice process.
"'You had a Starbucks hot chocolate, you offered me some and I said no thanks. You took a sip and said mmm, I'm in heaven.' It's sad because now it's true, Ellen said reading one of the notes.
The Shanes say the outpouring of support really helped them through this tough time. Reminders of Emily are now everywhere, even a permanent one in the park where she grew up playing.
"I can just picture her playing in this spot, running on this field," Ellen said.
At the park in Malibu, the Kiwianis Club donated a bench in her honor. A complete stranger planted a tree with flowers in her favorites color at the crash site. A family friend shaped a purple surfboard with her picture. A Malibu man created a lifesaving device name after Emily.
The list goes on and the Shanes hope with tributes like this, so will Emily's inspiring memory.
"Other people will come here and they will see the plaque with her name and she'll kind of live on through that," Ellen said.
The Shanes also are working on the "A Safer PCH" campaign in an effort to make the road safer for pedestrians.
Sina Khankhanian, the driver accused of killing Emily, reportedly tried to kill himself in the crash. He faces murder charges and a trial this fall.
