In Memory of Tracy Ann Fein

I know most of you will not know who Tracy Fein (pronounced "fine") is, but I want to dedicate today's post to her. I also ask that you pray for her parents, Steve & Legia, today.

The Fein's live two doors down from us and are wonderful people. A side note to what I write about today is that last April, Legia, an avid cyclist in awesome physical shape, was out riding with Steve when she accidentally tumbled and ended up with a broken neck. She spent 3-4 months on bedrest in a brace that she still has to wear today.

Steve & Legia, Tracy's sister, Jennifer, and several other family members are in a courtroom in Minden, Nevada right now as I am writing. They are there for the sentencing hearing of the young man who was driving the car Tracy was killed in.

Tracy was killed on August 27, 2005 in a single car accident in Minden, Nevada. She was a passenger in her brand new, long-waited for Scion, driven at the time by her boyfriend, Trevor Clark. Unfortunately, they had driven about 450 miles in about 7 hours. You do the math.

Mr. Clark was found to have exceeding levels of various drugs in him when the accident occurred. That's why he is in court today, after (thankfully) pleading guilty to the charges he faced.

Admitted by the Fein's is that Tracy was caught up in the drugs too. She chose to give herself to an unhealthy relationship with Mr. Clark. She was, however, slowly but surely turning her life around. She graduated from nursing school a year ago as was working. She was trying to make better decisions. This trip (they were on their way to The Burning Man Festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada) was obviously not one of her better choices.

For any who would like to express their regards to the Fein's, you can visit the website Steve set up for Tracy at http://www.tracyfein.com . A STRONG warning and disclaimer - For the purposes of the sentencing hearing, Steve has placed some links of audio recordings that Trevor Clark left on the Fein answering machine some years ago that are VERY graphic and filled with expletives. If you choose to listen to them, please know that you do so at your own choice. I list the website as a way to see some of Tracy's story and express condolences and prayers directly to the Fein's.