On April 19, 2015, 15 year-old Haylie Elizabeth Jordan, affectionately known as Haylo, was riding in the back of her family’s Ford Focus on their way home. Their car had come to a complete stop on the Capital City freeway due to traffic when a distracted driver, driving at an unsafe speed, slammed into the back of their car. Haylie was killed on impact.
A freshman at El Camino High School, Haylie was passionately dedicated to her education. Science was her favorite subject, and her mom, Jamie Jordan, recalls Haylie drawing each element of the periodic table on index cards. Haylie was also a member of her school’s dance team—her favorite genre being jazzy hip-hop. After school hours, education was never far from Haylie’s mind. She spent her free time teaching herself how to speak Japanese and play the guitar via Youtube.
Beloved by her family and friends, Haylie’s kindness, warmth and devotion to goodwill were the things that drove her heart. Her mother remembers her trying to save every insect that entered their home, and going out of her way to give her last ten dollars to a homeless man on the street because she felt he needed it more than she did. Her friend, AJ Fleshman said, “She was probably the happiest person I had ever met. She was always happy, always smiling, bubbly and cheerful. She tried to make everyone’s day better, and she really made my entire year just by approaching me at a party and talking to me when no one else would.”
Haylie highly valued her relationship with God and spent many of her summers at Stram camp. Inspired by her connection to her faith and her love of science, Haylie desired to one day become a missionary and a scientist.
Her mom, Jamie wishes to share this message below about her treasured daughter, Haylie.
“I will never get to see my daughter graduate from high school, or see her off to college. I won’t be able to help her get ready for her wedding and hold her hand as she has her first child. So many firsts I’m missing out on, as are the rest of Haylie’s family and friends. The only real peace I have in all of this, is knowing that my daughter is in heaven—dancing with the angels. She loved her God, and knowing that someday in his time, I will be with her again brings me comfort.
So the next time you think of something like a text or a phone call that just can’t wait—or you hear your phone beep with an incoming message or call or you’re in a hurry to get to your next destination and are tempted to go faster than the designated speed limit—please think of my forever 15-year-old Haylie Elizabeth, my Haylo, and please don’t make a bad choice. If you do, next time it could be you or someone you love who dies.”
