This browser does not support the Video element.
Royal Oak mother honors children killed in crash by helping others in need
A Royal Oak mother who lost her two children in a crash in 2012 is keeping their memory alive by helping children and families in need.
ROYAL OAK, Mich. (FOX 2) - In 2012, a reckless driver forced a vehicle off US-23, causing a rollover crash that killed Christie Siegel’s children.
Jordan, 14, and Ashley, 11, were traveling with their stepmother and her children when that crash happened. An Ohio woman named Kristin Boss allegedly caused the crash with a delivery van and kept driving.
"She lives her life free. I live my life with a broken heart every day," Siegel said. "She knew and that's what she's charged with, is leaving the scene of an accident causing death and injury, so she saw it happening and she left. She drove home and she carried on with her life for days."
Police eventually found the accused driver, but Boss didn't face charges at first. Then a civil case turned up new evidence, and in September 2020, she was arrested and charged with six felonies.
Kristin Boss
"I just think she needs to be held responsible for her actions and her carelessness and recklessness. She took the lives of Jordan and Ashley," Siegel said.
Siegel has been forced to carry on with her life without her children. She describes herself as a "high-functioning griever" whose life has been forever changed by the loss of her children.
"They were very social. Ashley was a social butterfly. She loved her friends and sleepovers. Jordan was very much into sports," she said. "They were good in school and they were good kids in the community, too."
Christie Siegel with her children, Ashley and Jordan.
After the crash, Siegel decided to help others in memory of her children. She started the Jordan and Ashley Siegel Scholarship Foundation, which has raised more than $100,000 to help children and families in need. The fund has helped families get items such as food and coats and has provided funding for camping and field trips.
Siegel works with Royal Oak Youth Assistance, something she says has given her life purpose.
"I was a mom and good at it, so finding a purpose now which is the foundation and just looking through other children's eyes and giving them life experiences that Jordan and Ashley got to have," she said.
Christie Siegel helps others through a scholarship fund created in honor of her children who died.
Siegel said she is comforted by thank you notes and finds joy in helping others.
"Seeing the happiness and the thank you cards we get and the appreciation from the community, helping those families, that's my passion," she said. "Even though the kids passed, I'm always their mom and I will always be a mom."
Donate to the Jordan and Ashley Scholarship Fund here.