Published March 13, 2024; Republished May 23, 2024
By KAREN LAGRANGE COX
After grieving the loss of his eighteen-year-old daughter Ramsie Baumgardner in a tragic accident, Brian Baumgardner made the decision to advocate against drinking and distracted driving.
On January 22, 2022, Ramsie’s life was taken after being hit head-on by an impaired driver who was traveling in the wrong direction on Highway 167 between Abbeville and Maurice. Ramsie was eighteen plus ten days old when the accident took her life. Both Ramsie and the impaired driver died as a result of the accident. During the summer of 2023, Baumgardner decided he needed to raise awareness of the dangers of not only drinking and driving, but distracted driving as well. Baumgardner felt that if he raised awareness, especially amongst younger drivers, it would hopefully increase his chances of truly making an impact and making a change.
Baumgardner speaks at Sudden Impact through Oscher Lafayette General Hospital. Sudden Impact is a nationally recognized, award-winning initiative to educate young drivers about the consequences of reckless driving. This hospital-based program shows young drivers the consequences of driving impaired, distracted, and not wearing seatbelts. [source] The students enrolled in Sudden Impact interact with the Oschner trauma team, Louisiana State Police, and trauma survivors. The program also requires the student’s parents to make mock calls to let their family and friends know of the student’s accident. The program aims to remind young drivers how many lives can be changed by the student’s bad decision to drive recklessly.
In addition to being a speaker at Sudden Impact, Baumgardner volunteers to share Ramsie’s story with students at Pelican Driving School and Vermilion Driving School.
When speaking with students, Baumgardner focuses on three things: 1) drunk driving, 2) buzzed driving, and 3) distracted driving. He stresses all decisions have consequences and there are options available not to drink and drive, which include having a designated driver, calling an Uber, and having the courage to know that if you drink, you should not drive. He adds that certain medications, including some over-the-counter (OTC) medications and using drugs, can impact a person’s ability to drive safely.
Baumgardner shares Ramsie’s story with the students by talking about her life as a typical teenager. She was a social butterfly, enjoyed spending time with friends and family, and loved working. Ramsie was also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and was passionate about her Christian faith. He shares videos of Ramsie, which reflect her larger-than-life personality, and also shares actual footage and photos from her accident. Baumgardner feels that by doing so, students can relate to and truly grasp what happens when the wrong decision is made and that it can happen at any time to anyone.
For the last twenty-six years, Baumgardner served as a police officer on the SWAT team, narcotics, and homicide investigations and patrol. Even through all of his experiences professionally, nothing would not prepare Baumgardner for the worst experience of his life – the tragic loss of his daughter.
Losing a child is something that no parent should have to go through. No one should have to call family and friends to let them know of their loved one’s passing, pick out a burial casket, or decide who to ask to be pallbearers for their child’s funeral.
Through the past couple of years since losing Ramsie, Baumgardner has also found another way to channel his grief through a local organization called The RescYOU Group. The RescYOU group provides financial and emotional assistance to families who have lost a child from birth to eighteen years old. Baumgardner says one of the services that the group offers that’s helped him navigate through his grief is the family peer-to-peer support the group along with the strictly father’s peer-to-peer support. He said being able to share his feelings with other families who suffering the sale loss has been very beneficial to his healing process.
Baumgardner says that losing a child is a pain that will never go away. The bad days are inevitable, but he emphasizes how communication amongst families is detrimental in the healing process. He is thankful for the support of his family and friends. He says he’s especially grateful for the communication that he and his wife share. He said says that often times, when facing such a significant loss, families don’t talk with each other about their feelings of helplessness over the death of a loved one.
Baumgardner says he plans to continue to share Ramsie’s story and to spread awareness. If it makes the difference in even one person’s decision making, and if it saves even one life, then he’s accomplished his goal. He states that “Being the change is hard, but it’s worth it in the end.”
Ramsie will be forever honored and remembered by her family, her friends, and her community.
To reach out to Baumgardner on his work or to get information on grief support, he can be reached through his Facebook page.
