I went back to my tent after a row with my dad on a family holiday – hours later my boyfriend was dead
WHEN Jessi Smith headed back to her tent after arguing with her dad, she had no idea of the horror she would wake up to.
It was the first time she and her boyfriend had gone on holiday with her parents, and it would be the last.
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Jessi Smith recalled the moment her boyfriend died while on a family holiday
Credit: TikTok
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Jesi now pictured with her fiance Will
Credit: TikTok
The 26-year-old was just 20 when she met her boyfriend Alex Fitchett on an online dating site.
The pair immediately hit it off and soon began a serious relationship, and two months later he was invited to her family vacation to Pennsylvania, US.
But things took a turn when Jessi went to bed early after having an innocent argument with her dad.
She said: "We were playing cornhole that evening. Me and my dad got in like some dumb little argument. I was like, whatever, I'm gonna go in the tent.
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"I told Alex, I was like, I'll just see you when you come in the tent.
"So I go inside, I go in the tent and I like lay down and I go to sleep."
But in the middle of the night, she woke to someone banging on one of the camper doors and woke up.
She figured Alex might have been drinking and was messing around, but when she got out of her tent she soon realised something was seriously wrong.
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She told the We're All Insane podcast that she found her dad's friend outside who told her 'Alex wrecked the four wheeler and he's not doing very well."
Jessi and her sister then got on the other four wheeler to make their way over to Alex, but she was met with flashing lights from the ambulances.
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Alex Fitchett was flung form the quad bike resulting in fatal injuries
Credit: Getty
'I'm 25 and my boyfriend is 76 – people call our relationship disturbing and family say I'm ruining my life'
"Once I got close enough to see what was going on, it's like I didn't even want to drive any further," she recalled.
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"I just like stopped the four wheeler and we got off and we ran. And this lady, I don't know why I think of this lady very often, but she grabbed me and she wrapped her arms around me.
"And I'm screaming. And she's like, 'is that your boyfriend?' And I said, 'yeah'. And she said, 'honey, I need you to stay right here.'
As Jessi was held back from getting close to her partner, she remembers screaming and sobbing.
Where to seek grief support
Need professional help with grief? Child Bereavement UK Childbereavementuk.org
Cruse Bereavement Cruse.org.uk
Relate Relate.org.uk
The Good Grief Trust Thegoodgrieftrust.org
You can also always speak to your GP if you're struggling.
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Check out these books, podcasts and apps that all expertly navigate grief… Griefcast: Cariad Lloyd interviews comedians on this award-winning podcast.
The Madness Of Grief by Rev Richard Coles (£9.99, W&N): The Strictly fave writes movingly on losing his husband David to alcoholism.
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Good Mourning by Sally Douglas and Imogen Carn (£14.99, Murdoch Books): A guide for people who've suffered sudden loss, like the authors who both lost their mums.
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"I just remember screaming 'he has to be okay,'" she said.
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Jessi's dad was on the scene helping to give Alex CPR but he was already gone.
While they put a white sheet up to block the scene, shadows were visible from the flashing lights.
It was when they brought out another white sheet, that Jessi knew Alex was gone.
She said: "They brought the second white sheet out, that's when I was like 'oh my gosh he's gone.'
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"I remember it felt so much like a dream it felt so much like a movie."
Ambulance services took Alex to the hospital while Jessi made her way back to the campsite in shock.
She recalled lying down on the air mattress in her tent and forced herself to go to sleep, 'if I was asleep, it wasn't happening,' she explained.
A pothole was located next to the crash scene, and it's assumed Alex braked the ATV and hit it, sending him off the bike causing the fatal injuries.
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At the hospital, she saw Alex's mum for the first time and broke down apologising.
But Nina, Alex's mum told Jessi: "You cannot apologise, he was the happiest when he was with you."
Five years on, Jessi is still close to Alex's family and she revealed on social media that Nina sends Jessi flowers on their anniversary every year.
Jessi has also moved on and now has a fiance, Will, and a child, who are also close to Alex's family.
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