TUMWATER, Wash. -- The family of a deaf woman from Tumwater says she must have been terrified when her car broke down on Interstate 5 in Thurston County. Christine Sanders, 31, was able to get her car to the shoulder of the road, but minutes later, she was killed when a semi-truck hit her car from behind.
Troopers say the driver of the semi wasn't speeding or impaired and is cooperating with the investigation.
Sanders' husband and twin sister, who are both deaf as well, spoke to KING 5 with the help of an interpreter.
"It's hard to know what to say," said her husband, Aaron Sanders. "I miss her."
He says he was sleeping when his wife got up to go to her 4 a.m. shift at Target. She texted him at 3:41 a.m., "come and get me now!", but Aaron was sleeping and didn't see the text until several hours later.
At about 3:48 a.m. the first 911 calls about the crash started coming in.
When Aaron woke up the next morning, he texted Christine right away. When she didn't respond, he went to her work.
"I asked the manager where Chris was, and he said she never showed up," he said.
Soon after that, he heard about a deadly crash on Interstate 5, the road Christine takes to work, and his heart sank. Christine's twin found out in almost the same way.
"I kinda had this empty feeling," said Cathy Benitez. "You know, my twin wasn't there anymore."
The family says it's a tough loss to process. Since Christine couldn't hear or speak, they believe her first instinct was to text her husband, instead of trying to call 911.
There are text-to-911 services available for the hearing impaired, but in Christine's case, even that likely wouldn't have saved her.
Aaron said the red Geo Metro had been having some mechanical problems lately, but says Christine did everything right when the car broke down.
"She was safe, she pulled off the road, her lights were on and flashing, she was still with the seatbelt buckle on," he said. "And one second later, she was gone."
It is a question Washington State Patrol gets asked a lot: What do you do if your car breaks down on a busy highway?
Troopers say Christine did the right thing in getting her car to the shoulder of the road. They can't say for sure whether she would've been safer had she gotten out of the vehicle once she pulled it onto the shoulder. That, too, can be risky.
They say you should call 911 right away if you do break down. Another tip is to always make sure your car is in good working condition, to minimize the chance of a breakdown. If your car breaks down in the middle of a roadway and you are unable to move it to the shoulder of the road, troopers say you should try to safely get out of the car and get off the highway.
It's still unclear whether the semi driver in this case veered onto the shoulder of the road, or if a small portion of Christine's car was sticking out onto the roadway. The investigation is ongoing and charges against the semi driver have not yet been ruled out.
Christine Sanders leaves behind her husband and a seven-year-old daughter. Donations to help the family can be made at the Christine Sanders Memorial Fund at Olympia Federal Savings.
