INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — “We had been through a lot together. She was my best friend,” Christina Estes said.
Estes shared an unbreakable bond with her 18-year-old daughter Kristen Moore.
“She was the first person in my life to accept me for me. She was the best gift ever,” Estes said.
The metro mom got an early morning phone call on Saturday that came with unthinkable news. Her daughter was being taken by helicopter to Centerpoint Medical Center.
“When I got there she wasn’t doing good. They said she had internal bleeding on her brain, so I knew,” she explained.
Kristen had been involved in a terrible crash along Interstate 70.
“Her tire popped and she lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle rolled over (police) said three or four times. She had four other friends with her, and they all flew out the windshield,” Estes said.
When Estes got to the hospital, doctors told her Kristen had died. She spent a few moments at her daughter’s bedside saying a final goodbye.
“I just told her that I loved her and that I will always love her and that I’ll miss her. I had the best 18 years of my life with her,” Estes said.
She said Kristen was an animal lover and took care of six cats. She was looking forward to graduating from Fort Osage High School on May 29.
“She never got to accomplish that, but she did have a good life. When she was in school she was so smart,” Estes said.
Estes said she’ll forever cherish the memories she and good times she and her daughter shared.
According to the Missouri Highway Patrol crash report, the accident happened at 12:13 a.m. Saturday morning, along eastbound I-70 near mile marker 68. The report indicates none of the car’s occupants were wearing seat belts.
