21-year-old Yannick Frijns of Geldrop died in 2016 in what is also called the app crash on Texel. She was hit from behind on a bicycle by a motorist who was checking her phone. Her parents founded a foundation after the loss of their daughter and are now visiting primary schools with an awareness campaign.
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“Actually, I don’t want to be here,” says mother Lauranne Janssen one afternoon for elementary school children in Geldrop Castle. “The reason is that she would still be alive.” Six years after the accident, she still makes her very sad. She barely she can get the story of her daughter on her lips.
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“The death of our daughter Yannick makes no sense.”
Father Frank recounts how he lived on the evening of the accident: “The accident happened in Texel. I was in Maastricht when Lauranne called me and I immediately went in that direction. On the way I got a message saying that Yannick was being taken by helicopter to Amsterdam University Hospital. “
“I arrived at the hospital at half past twelve. She was still alive then, but contact was no longer possible. She died that night too. It is indescribable. The journey from Maastricht to Amsterdam was the worst of all. My life. Me. Me. they only have 2.5 hours … “Then he is silent. The event takes place in his head and that does a lot for Frank. “The death of our daughter Yannick makes no sense.”
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“We will be visiting in group 8, because next year they will go to secondary school.”
But now it’s been six years and there is the Yannick Foundation. Mother Lauranne: “We want to raise awareness among children and hope that this changes their behavior. That they too dare address each other like: hey, what are you doing now? ”
Since the foundation, mother Lauranne and father Frank have visited group 8 with various activities. This way children learn in a playful way why they should leave their mobile phone in their pocket while they ride a bike.
Frank Frijns explains: “We have chosen to visit the children of group 8, because next year they will go to secondary school. Let’s hope some of them will think soon: maybe we shouldn’t use that cell phone on the bike for a while. “
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“You can get distracted very quickly.”
Two of Yannick’s friends also help in Geldrop. Ellen Smeets: “We try to teach the children of group 8 in a fun way that you can be distracted very quickly.”
Nandi van Suylen: “I think Yannick would have found it very intense, because she didn’t like being the center of attention. But I think she would have liked this action to be aimed at every casualty on the road. “
Father Frank cannot understand it: “Every year there are 700 deaths on the road and 20,000 injured. It’s only 700 senseless deaths! ”He understands that they won’t bring the counter to zero with this action, but he hopes their message will stay with at least some.
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