On a chilly and overcast day on December 16th, 2020 at 1:16 p.m. Shauntaye Kopecky a vibrant 20-year-old, engaged to be married, and seven months pregnant life changed forever.  Shauntaye was so proud of her little family, loved being pregnant and could not wait to be a mother.  Her and her mother spent many hours organizing, painting and redecorating the small farmhouse and nursery that her and her fiancé, Jaron Hakinson reside in.  Shauntaye was feeling tired and wanted to rest in her own bed, so her mother (Michelle Kurle) followed her home.   Michelle and Shauntaye also wanted to finish decorating Oaklynn’s room in the evening, so they left to go to Shauntayes home.  

Shauntaye was driving south on a rural gravel road near Wilton, N.D. about two miles from her home when she was struck by a one-ton maintenance truck.  Her mother was behind her and recalls seeing dust, a glimpse of a blue vehicle, and praying that her daughter made it through the intersection.  She than seen a blue blur going around and around and realized it was her daughter’s car.  She somehow made it to her daughters’ vehicle as she must have been in shock.   

I received a call from my sister (Michelle Kurle) and all she could say was, “Shauntaye, 66, 66” and I could not understand what happened.  I than received a call from Casey, Michelle’s husband who said they were on Sixty Sixth Street which was only two minutes from Shauntayes home and three minutes from mine.  I was so shocked from the call that my brother had to push me to get going.  I arrived at the scene of the accident and seen my sister in the vehicle trying to help her daughter.  Shauntaye was unconscious and it sounded like she was snoring.  We did not know what to do as she was pregnant and did not want to move her.  The U.P.S. Carrier was on the scene and helped us until the ambulance and police could arrive.  Michelle and I tried to help Shauntaye, but she laid against the passenger window with her legs across the seats and unconscious.  We looked at one another and wanted to do CPR but was afraid to do so because she was pregnant and the angle that she laid in the car.  

A beautiful, smart, and talented young lady who became engaged to be married and was so excited for her family would never think of what would happen next.  While driving on a gravel road, thirty weeks pregnant, she was hit by a one-ton truck.  She suffered a diffused Anoxia traumatic brain injury, a broken clavicle, and a chipped hip.  Shauntaye was transported to the Intensive Care Unit at Sanford Hospital in Bismarck. N.D. where she would remain in a coma.  She had to stay sedated three (3) weeks as baby Oaklynns heart rate would increase to dangerous limits when Shauntaye was not.  While lying in a coma, Baby Girl Oaklynn was delivered premature via Cesarean section on January 7th, 2021.  Baby Oaklynn has since been diagnosed with a cyst in her brain which they believe is due to lack of oxygen from the accident.  Shauntaye and her mother Michelle were transferred to the Craig Hospital located in Englewood, Colorado on February 1st, 2021 via medical air transport.