My name is Jacqueline. I’m a mother and I’m the sole parent and provider for my teenage son, Aleksander. He is truly the light of my life and our small family consists of the 2 of us and our 2 loving dogs. We were in the other vehicle that was hit head-on by Dennis Lee Olson II on 5/17/2026.

Last Sunday in the early morning hours, my son, his brother, and I were involved in a wrong-way drunk driving accident on I-75 that has changed not only our lives forever, but has also completely devastated another family taking a beautiful life way too soon.

As we were driving home, a drunk driver did a u-turn on the interstate in the northbound lanes and started traveling southbound at a very high speed in the wrong direction directly toward us. When I saw the oncoming headlights at the last second, I tried to swerve to avoid colliding with the vehicle but he still hit us head-on, with the F-150 then plowing through my entire driver’s side injuring all three of us inside. After the initial collision, the drunk driver also hit the car behind us head-on, tragically taking the young girl’s life.

We are incredibly grateful to still be alive, but emotionally and mentally this experience has been devastating beyond words. Trying to process surviving such a violent accident while knowing another family is grieving an unimaginable loss has left me guilt ridden and struggling in ways I never imagined. This accident happened during a time when I truly believed life was finally beginning to turn around for my son and I. We’d experienced several years of financial hardships, instability and a repossession, and in February of this year I had finally been able to purchase a new vehicle after spending $2,000-$3,000 a month for over a year on rental cars just to continue working and surviving. I had also just started a new career and what was supposed to be an opportunity to finally rebuild a stable future for my son and myself. All of that was lost due to the careless selfishness of a habitual drunk driver with a BA of .222 getting behind the wheel once again.

My vehicle was completely destroyed and is a total loss, leaving us without transportation in a very small town with no public transit and very little local resources. I am just so overwhelmed with all of the stress and financial strain that this accident has caused and I have felt so unbelievably grief stricken for the other family who is dealing with a much, much heavier loss. This has been one of the darkest times of my life. I have always struggled with asking for help because I’ve never wanted to feel like a burden or an obligation to anyone, and I know there are people facing hardships everywhere. So I have always worked hard to overcome my own hardships and obstacles on my own the best way that I could.

As difficult as it is for me to ask, we truly do need help right now, more than ever.

Any and all help we receive will go toward our immediate living expenses for the next few months while we navigate the lengthy insurance and court process, such as: transportation/rental costs to allow me to find a new job after treatment/surgery and recovery, utility bills, food, gas and rent ($1,800) so we can keep our home. I am truly so sorry that I have to ask for this kind of help right now, I really am. I am just fighting as much as I possibly can to stay hopeful and try and maintain as much stability as I can while I rebuild our lives day by day. 

I want to sincerely thank anyone who has shown kindness, compassion, prayers, encouragement, love, or support during this incredibly painful time. Every message, donation, share, and kind word has meant more to me than I could ever properly express and has reminded me that my son and I are not completely alone while trying to make it through one of the hardest seasons of our lives.

If you are unable to donate, simply sharing our story or keeping our family — and especially the family who lost their loved one — in your thoughts and prayers means so much more than I can put into words.

From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU. ♥️

-Jacqueline & Alek