Contributed by Judy Fish
Tragedy struck a Lake Monticello family just days ago when a young father and son were killed in a vehicle accident in Charlottesville. Their community of current and past co-workers and friends are coming together to raise money for the surviving wife and son.
Laker Jakki Warrick lost her 34-year-old husband, Bryan Daniel Warrick, and 5-year-old son, Milo, in a horrific crash near Rt. 29 and the I-64 interchange in Albemarle County on May 19. Law enforcement officials reported that they were both wearing their seatbelts when they were struck by another vehicle.
The Warrick family moved to Lake Monticello in the fall of 2019 from Colorado so that Bryan Warrick could accept a position at WillowTree, Inc., an American mobile application design and development company headquartered in Charlottesville.
“We grew up in Denver, Colorado,” Jakki Warrick said Monday. “My husband was offered a job In Charlottesville and we said, ‘what the heck, let’s have an adventure.’ We immediately fell in love with the Lake and its amenities.”
Jakki Warrick, 34, said the couple’s sons have enjoyed life at the Lake. She said the Main Beach and Tufton Fishing Pond were favorite family spots. “So much so, that getting Milo to leave the beach or the pond was always a struggle,” his mom said. “He enjoyed swimming in the lake, and fishing.” The couple’s older son, 12-year-old Landon Warrick, was at home with his mom at the time of the crash.
“My husband and little boy passed away on May 19,” Mrs. Warrick said. “May 21 was our 11th wedding anniversary.”
Jakki Warrick said her husband’s parents arrived for a visit from Denver on the afternoon of May 18.
“My husband had a state inspection done on his car In Charlottesville on May 19,” she said, recalling the day her life forever changed. “My father-in-law drove Bryan and my little boy to pick up the car. After picking up the car, my little boy decided he wanted to ride back home with his dad. A big box truck ran a red light when my husband was turning left onto the on ramp at I-64 and 118. My husband was not at fault.”
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the police department’s Fatal Crash Reconstruction Team.
Here is a link to the family’s GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/d67a7323
