Matt’s mother, Connie Beard Russell, sums up his life beautifully but also heartbreakingly with just six words: ‘My Son, My World, My Hero.’
Matt was a senior at Florida State University, studying to be a Marine Biologist. He loved to live life, studied hard and played hard.
Matt made a significant research discovery while interning with NOAA that scientists believe will help save the coral reefs in our oceans. His research was published posthumously. Matt was a handsome, bright, kind young man who had just begun to touch the world!
On December 21, 2oo6, someone made the choice to get into his car after spending the evening drinking. Twenty-one-year-old Matt was traveling to West Palm Beach from Orlando with friends to do something he loved to do: SCUBA dive. They were stuck in traffic on I-95 when the drunk driver, driving as fast as 90 MPH, crashed into the back of their car. Matt was riding in the backseat, wearing his seat belt. He suffered extensive brain injuries and was in a coma on life support for eight days.
On December 29, 2006, Matthew Beard tragically died from his injuries.
THE DAY THE EARTH STOPPED SPINNING
When I lost my child the earth ceased to spin.
The moon will not rise, the tide won’t come in.
The sun insists on having its way,
Blasting its rays and rising each day.
Another day comes, my child is not here;
Another day comes, I live my worst fear.
Each morning I wake with the same painful thought;
Why am I here when my sweet child is not?
All moments that pass I question this fate;
While other lives carry on, I sit and I wait.
I wait for an answer, for some reason why…
Praying for it to be me that could die.
Through my sorrow and grief I have made a life choice;
To keep my son’s memory alive and give him a voice.
I share stories of my son and the man he would be;
A boy who lived life and was a hero to me.
Who would grow up and make the world a better place.
Who would save the seas and the oceans from the human race.
When I lost my child the earth ceased to spin.
But the moon still must rise and the tide must come in.
And since the sun insists on having its way,
I will live in my child’s memory each and every day.
~ Kim Turner, written for his Mom in memory of Matthew Beard
This bright young man had so much more to give.
This world has certainly lost because someone made a conscious choice to drink and drive.
Matt’s life was taken from him and his mother was left with only memories of her son, her only child, because of a senseless, preventable and violent crime.
On the next page, read what happened to Matthew’s killer, Mauricio Gomez…/