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FREET, Cassandra Eileen 1985-2006

FREET, PENNING, RANSDELL, BRAND, PRICE

Posted By: K.L. Kittleson
Date: 10/14/2012 at 15:42:41

WATERLOO - Cassandra Eileen "Cassie" Freet, 21, of Waterloo, died in Waterloo on Saturday, April 22, from injuries sustained in an ATV accident.

She was born January 19, 1985, in Waterloo, daughter of Tanya Price Penning and John Freet Sr. She was a 2003 graduate of Waterloo East High School and was employed by Omega Cabinets.

Survivors include her parents, Tanya (George) Penning of Waterloo and John (Merlene) Freet of Illinois; three brothers: John (Lynnae) Freet Jr. and George Penning, both of Waterloo, and Kyle Freet of Illinois; a sister, Melissa Freet of Washburn; grandparents, Don (Linda) Freet of Gilbertville, Patrick Price of Waterloo, Florence (Robert) Ransdell of Missouri and Henry (Lucy) Penning of Waterloo; great-grandmother, Jean Brand of Waterloo; and several aunts, uncles, cousins and four nieces.

Preceded in death by her maternal grandparents and paternal grandfather.

Services: 1 p.m. Thursday at Kearns, Huisman-Schumacher Chapel on Kimball, with burial in Garden of Memories Cemetery. Public visitation 4 to 8 p.m. today and 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and for an hour before services Thursday, all at the funeral home.

Memorials may be directed to the family.

[Kearns, Huisman-Schumacher Funeral Home Obituary]

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The Story of what happened,
by Cassie's mother, Tanya.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

At the tender age of 21, my daughter Cassie, was killed in an ATV accident. It was and is, the worst day of my life! She was suppose to come over and spend the day with me, watching movies that I had rented, but she went to spend time with her brother, John and B/F Trinity and their friend Keith. They were having a cookout, listening to music, and enjoying the beautiful day.

Sometime later, I called Cassie to see if she was going to come over and watch Chronicles of Narnia with me, and she told me that she didn't know when she would be over, but to go ahead and start watching it, and that she would call me later. but that call never came. It was the last time I spoke to her.

When my phone rang again, I don't remember what time it was; the person on the other end was my son, John. Something was wrong; I could feel it! He told me that Cassie was hurt and that the ambulance people were working on her. John didn't know what happened, cause he had left earlier and went home to get some sleep before going back on the road.

He said that Trinity called him and told him that Cassie was hurt and that they called for an ambulance. John didn't know what happened and he was trying to get the details from Trinity and Keith and the other kids that were there.

Here is what happened:

Cassie, Trinity and Keith were the only ones outside; everyone else was inside. Trinity and Keith were riding the ATV's on Keith's property. Keith, Trinity and John had made a dirt track on Keith's property. They had also made some dirt ramps to go over, to make the track more fun.

Cassie had been on the side lines just watching the guys have fun, going around the track and jumping the ramps. I don't know if Cassie was interested in riding the ATV, but it would be her one and only time. Trinity showed Cassie the ATV and how it worked. He showed her the gas, brakes, and everything else. He said that he made sure that Cassie understood how the atv worked. But the ATV belonged to her brother John, and it was too big for such a small woman. She was only 98 lbs! Trinity let Cassie ride the ATV without him. Trinity is twice her size! He should have been on the ATV with her. Especially her first time! But he didn't get on the ATV with her! She took off.

She was going around the track, hit the dirt ramp, went up in the air; the ATV flipped her off! Just like if you would be riding your bicycle on the sidewalk, hitting a rut, and flipping over the handle bars and landing on your ass!

Cassie went up in the air, got thrown off, landed on her back, the ATV came down, and bounced off her head and continued rolling another 50 or so feet. The ATV had crushed her head! She had no chance of survival!

The fire department, police, everyone, was there to trying to help Cassie. Keith called 911, Trinity called John; John called me. John lived only a few blocks from me and he didn't even stop or call me after Trinity called him to tell me that something happened to Cassie!

I was and still not happy about that at all. John told me that the ambulance would be taking her to Allen Memorial Hospital and I told him that I would meet them all there! I got dressed and drove to the hospital! No one was there when I got there. It seemed like it took forever for them to get there. Lewis (my B/F at the time) and I stood outside the ambulance bay waiting and watching for the ambulance to get there with my daughter! I kept calling John, asking them where they were and how fast they were going. Then I saw them; it seemed like they were driving slow!

The ambulance pulled up to the entrance and as they were getting ready to open the ambulance doors, I was right there! Then I saw her! Tubes all over her! Someone doing CPR on her, all of them talking at once. I reached for Cassie; to touch her, but someone grabbed me from behind.

I walked in with Cassie and everyone else, crying and screaming her name! I wanted to go with her! To help her! To be beside her! But then all of a sudden, four female nurses grabbed me! They fought with me, as I fought to go with Cassie! The nurses pulled me down the hallway and took me to a 'family room'. I was crying uncontrollably; shaking uncontrollably; my mind going all over the place, trying to figure out what was had happened to my daughter. John, Trinity, Keith, all finally came into the 'family room.' I asked them what had happened. Trinity had blood on his shirt; Cassie's blood. Keith looked green. John, all composed.

I went to Trinity, hugged him, asking him what the hell happened!! I hugged him some more; beat on his chest; yelled at him! I didn't get any answers. Everyone was in shock! I was in shock! I sat down, Lewis beside me; the hospital priest came in, and she was no help at all! I somehow came to my senses and borrowed someone's cell phone and made a few calls. I called my dad; told him that I wanted to speak to Becky, his x-wife at the time and told her to get dad in the car and to bring him to the hospital and not tell him anything. He had just gotten out of the hospital a few days before from suffering a minor stroke and that I didn't want him getting any worse.

When I saw him, I made him sit in a wheel chair and asked the nurses to keep an eye on him and to take his vitals; I didn't need him to have a big stroke and die on me also. So, they did. I also tried to get a hold of my x-husband, George, to let him know what had happened. He also had our son, George, for his visitation weekend. But I couldn't get a hold of him. Every number I had was either wrong or disconnected!

So I called my x-in-laws and told them what had happened and that I was trying to get a hold of George; I asked Lucy (my x-mother-in-law) to get a hold of George, and to not tell our son what had happened to my daughter. I wanted to tell my little boy. She kept her word, and I will always be grateful to Lucy for doing this one thing for me.

Next thing I knew, a doctor and nurse came into the room; the door was closed, they sat down. the doctor started telling me things that I don't remember; I got more upset, listening to whatever the doctor was saying and not understanding a damn thing he was saying! I told him that I watch enough life in the ER and other shows on television. All I wanted to know was: did you get her to breath!?!? The only words I heard was," no, I'm sorry." I lost it. I screamed, I cried harder, I yelled! I asked the doctor if I could go see her now and he said to give them a little bit of time, so they can clean her up.

I don't know how long I sat there, but I was walking down the hallway, and then I was asked if I was ready to 'go in' and I must have shook my head, cause the next thing I knew, I was walking toward my daughter.

Tears streaming my face; a big hole in my heart and mind; wondering what the hell happened! When they told me that they were cleaning her up, I thought there was so much damage, that she would be un-recognizable. But she wasn't! She looked like she was just laying there sleeping! There were only a few scratches on her face, a tube sticking out of her mouth, eyes closed, looking -- asleep. Her hair, beautiful blonde hair had blood on it. A nurse came over to me and handed me the necklace she was wearing, that they had to take it off of her to take care of her medically.

I leaned over my daughter, buried my face next to hers, and I just cried, cried, cried, cried. I kept asking her to wake up! I asked her why she was on the ATV. What happened? Why don't you just wake up Cassie!? While I was there, laying on Cassie's hair, I heard a deep booming voice. It was my ex-husband, George. I stood up; the room was full! I turned around and threw my arms around him! Then I saw everyone else! I was wondering how in the hell did everyone know already? Why are they all in here? I figured out later that John was calling everyone! I was pissed at him! He could have waited until later to call everyone. But no! He did what he wanted too! I asked George where was our son was, and did he know anything. He said that he was outside in grandma's car and no, he didn't know anything. I told him that I wanted to go outside and see him. So, we walked outside, and he took me to Lucy's car.

There he was -- sitting in the front seat with grandma. He looked like he had been sleeping and that he was waking up. He looked so sweet. I opened up the door and the minute he saw me, he grabbed me tightly. He saw me crying, tears soaking my face, my eyes, full of sadness. He asked me what was wrong and why was I crying. I got a hold of myself, and tried to tell him. I tried to explain how we kill ants; but that didn't work. It didn't make

sense to me, how in the hell was that going to make sense to him? So, I sat that there and decided to tell him the truth.

I told him that Cassie got hurt really bad and that she was no longer with us. She was with God now. She was dead. He started crying. I cried with him. I looked at Lucy and mouthed the words, thank you.

George told me to go ahead and keep our son. He would give up the rest of his visitation weekend. He could tell that I needed our son more than he did. That was the nicest gesture that anyone has ever done for me. I told him thank you and gave him a hug, and he said he would call me or that I could call him. I told him that I didn't have a number for him, so he gave it to me, or to Lewis, I don't remember. I picked up my son and we walked back into the hospital and I sat down in the waiting room, in front of the TV, thinking George would watch it; but he didn't.

John came over to us. I asked him if he had gotten a hold of my mother. He said no, that he would try. I told him no, that I wanted to call her, and asked if I could borrow his phone. He gave me his phone and I tried to get a hold of her. I didn't get ahold of my mother, but I did get a hold of my step-dad. I told him to get a hold of mom and to tell her the worst news of my life.

He couldn't believe what I was telling him and neither could I. But it was, and is the truth. He said that he would get ahold of my mother and that they would call me later. They did call me later, and mother told me that they were coming and that they would be here the next day.

I tried to get George to get interested in the TV, but he would have none of it.

Someone tried to take George for a walk and he got pissed and told them that he was staying with mommy! He asked me if he could see his sissy. I was shocked! What do I do? John told me not to let him see sissy, cause it would only traumatize him. So I told George no. Boy! That was the wrong answer! He screamed at me; yelled at me; cried loud; and threw a fit!

He told me that he wanted to see his sister and that he wanted to see her now! I told him no again, that it would be too much for him, and he said he didn't care! This is a four-year-old boy! He loves his sister. With his yelling, screaming, crying, my own crying, listening to other's, I took one look at George, grabbed him, put him on the chair and told him to stand there! I looked him square in the eyes and asked him one more time, do you really want to see Cassie? He looked at me square in the eyes and said, yes! I said ok; come here.

We grabbed each other with everything we had, he laid his head down, and I said let's go! John and others kept telling me not to do it, it would only make things worse for him! I turned around and said: "f*** all of you!" "He's my son; he wants to see his sister, and I'm going to do just that!" And with that, we walked to where my only daughter was.

Before I took George through the doors, I asked him one more time if he was ready and he said, yes. I told him that Cassie will look like she is sleeping, but this is a sleep that you don't wake up from. He said, OK. The doors were pushed open, the curtain was pulled back, and there she was. We walked up to Cassie. George could tell I was telling him the truth. He was crying. He looked at his sister. He said, sissy, wake up. I told him that sissy won't wake up. She's in heaven with God now.

He asked if he could touch her, and I said yes. He grabbed her hand and shook her arm, trying to wake her up. He dropped her hand, there was a thud sound. He asked if he could touch her arm and I said, yes. He touched her arm and said that she was cold. I said I know. He grabbed her arm again; he shook her arm and told her to wake up. I told him that she won't wake up, honey, she's with God now. With that, he put her arm down, and laid his head against my chest; looking at his sister. He asked if he could give her a kiss and I said yes. He leaned over, kissed her on her cheek, told her that he loves her. Then he turned to me and said, "mommy, I'm ready to go now." I asked if he was sure, he said, "yes."

I looked at Cassie again, kissed her on her cheek, and walked back into the waiting room. John was still there, and I looked at him and told him that his little brother was just fine and that he is not traumatized. I don't how long we sat in the waiting room, but next

thing I knew, Lewis was driving us home. I didn't even put George in his car seat. He sat with me in the front. It was 1, 2, or 3 a.m. on Sunday morning. I don't remember. We pulled up in the driveway and I saw a mini-van pull up at the same time. I was wondering what my cousins Rick, Kelly and Amanda were doing at my place so late. It was then I remembered that they also had a little girl, Annie, who had died

at the age of four, of heart failure. They came into the house with us.

The phone was ringing.

I was crying. Lost. Alone. Scared. What do I do now?

( From: http://cassie-freet.last-memories.com/ )


 

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