18-year-olds Hannah Zebreski and Brinlee Farris were driving to a Bible college on April 3 when their vehicle hydroplaned and got into a five-vehicle pileup.
18-year-olds Hannah Zebreski and Brinlee Farris were driving to a Bible college on April 3 when their vehicle hydroplaned and got into a five-vehicle pileup.
18-year-olds Hannah Zebreski and Brinlee Farris were driving to a Bible college on April 3 when their vehicle hydroplaned and got into a five-vehicle pileup.
DENTON COUNTY, Texas — They may have been young, but their faith was big.
As they sat in the sanctuary at Calvary Church in Denton, the Zebreski and Farris families remembered the many ways their daughters lit up their worlds.
For 18-year-olds Brinlee Farris and Hannah Zebreski, faith and serving others was everything.
“Her church meant everything to her,” Kayla Farris said about her daughter, Brinlee. “She wasn’t afraid, she loved people.”
While they were unique in their own ways, the two were both involved in youth ministry and loved helping children.
“I want people to know she loved Jesus, and she had a servant’s heart,” Vanessa Zebreski said about her daughter, Hannah. “She just connected with people.”
“Just like Jesus, people saw the light when he was in the room,” Wes Zebreski said. “Hannah was the same way.”
The North Texas teenagers, who shared the same Pentecostal faith, were traveling to visit the same Bible college in Missouri on April 3.
“They were so excited to go together on this adventure,” Kayla Farris said.
As they drove through Atoka County in Oklahoma last Thursday, the rain poured.
According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Jeep that Farris drove hydroplaned and was hit. A chain reaction ensued, which led to a five-vehicle pileup on U.S. 69.
The two North Texas teenagers died at the scene. Their friend, the third passenger in the car, was hospitalized.
“You don’t expect it,” Vanessa Zebreski said. “Sometimes we feel like she should still be here. I keep waiting for her to come back.”
Now, they’re focusing on the light their daughter shined onto others to begin healing.
“It’s almost like a black cloud settles over, now I’m starting to see the cloud dissipate,” Wes Zebreski said.
He said his daughter’s light is what continues to shine through.
Hannah, who attended Calvary Church in Denton, was passionate about sign language, something she grew up learning from her parents, who are deaf. She was going to college to get into deaf ministry and loved babies.
Brinlee attended Victory Life Church in Corinth. She loved kids and worked with children with special needs.
“Watching her become this amazing person that’s now a woman… that has affected so many lives in such a way that’s selfless and bringing people out of their shells and connecting people… that was her gift,” John Farris said.
The two families, who are forever bonded by their loss, have leaned on each other and their faith to cope with the tragedy.
“We’ll never be the same. At least we have a hope that we’ll see them again,” Kayla Farris said.
Their faith brings hope for healing, Wes Zebreski said.
“I know everything is gonna be okay. God is there for us,” Wes Zebreski said.
If you would like to help the Zebreski family, you can donate here — for the Farris family, you can donate here.