LaRose turned her grief into a passion for saving lives

By Joan Janzen

Sandra LaRose tells her personal story to high school students, organizations and groups throughout Saskatchewan and Alberta. Her story relays the tragic death of her 17-year-old daughter, whose car was hit by a train in Weyburn while she was using her phone’s GPS to navigate. After undergoing surgery, her daughter died the day after her 17th birthday.

Sandra LaRose delivered a train safety presentation to students at Burstall School on February 13. The students were also celebrating the 100th day of school. Photo courtesy Burstall School staff

When I caught up with Sandra, she was doing six presentations in Medicine Hat and had just visited Burstall School. She delivered a talk to Grade 9-12 students at Fox Valley School. Sandra resides in the community of Tyvan, Sask. located southeast of Regina, and has been telling her personal story since 2019. “If I could talk to every Canadian high school student, I would,” she declared.

Her message resonates with students, staff, parents and grandparents who listen to her advocate for a change in people’s choices regarding distracted driving.

“It’s an important message. I focus on teens because it’s the easiest one for me,” she explained. On her Facebook page, she describes her mission as “facing grief head-on and turning it into a passion for saving lives.”

Repeatedly telling the story of her daughter’s death is not an easy thing to do, Sandra admitted. “But I could pay to see a psychologist and get no more help than I do by getting the reaction from these kids; it’s rewarding,” she said.

Sandra has the additional challenge of scheduling these presentations while working full-time, which sometimes necessitates taking a leave without pay to do the talks. “If this was my only job, I wouldn’t be able to live,” she chuckled.

She begins with a power point about her daughter so the students get to know her. Then, she focuses on the losses for the family and asks the students to consider what they would do if they lost their friend or their parents. She tells the teens about all the milestones her daughter missed. “I tell them instead of a grad dress, I bought an urn,” she said.

She remembered one student’s comment, which said, “You hear about don’t do this and don’t do that, but it totally changes when you have something real in front of you.”

Sandra’s new role as Canada’s Youth Rail-Safe Driving Consultant with Operation Lifesaver (OL) has helped her get into schools across the prairies and beyond. Because OL is a national organization dedicated to preventing collisions at railway crossings, Sandra has adjusted her message to include more train safety. When speaking to elementary students, like her recent visit to Burstall, she speaks only about train safety.

“In the smaller schools, I ask them to invite the community. The more that hear, the better. Distracted driving is a habit, but you can change your driving habits,” she said.

“In my personal opinion, if all the students I speak to eventually graduate from high school, then I can say I made an impact because that’s something my daughter didn’t get to do,” she said.