Nine years after fatal Oregon boat crash, Megan Wells’ family grapples with pain of her loss

LOVES PARK, Ill. (WTVO) — June 24th marks nine years since Megan Swaziek Wells was killed in a boating crash on the Rock River in Oregon.

“I had just had dinner with my sister and was out of town, and I got the call and I was coming home, but my sister got here first, and luckily she drove me. But I knew on the way to the hospital she was gone. I told my sister that I just felt it,” Wells’ mother, Robin Swaziek, recalled.

Wells, 31, was killed in 2016 when an intoxicated boater crashed into the pontoon boat she was riding on.

Her parents, Robin and David Swaziek, say they still feel the pain of her loss as if it happened only a few days ago.

“We’re doing whatever we can to kind of get through it. I always said day by day, sometimes hour by hour, and that’s it. It can be very tough and challenging and it still is grief. Grief doesn’t just stop. We’ll have this with us forever,” David said.

Robin said the pain is made worse, knowing Megan missed the achievements of the three children she left behind.

“Her oldest graduated high school this year. You know, it’s just such a milestone. But the whole time I’m sitting there, I’m just like his mom should be here for,” she said.

Each year, on the anniversary of Wells’ death, the family goes down to the river to throw flowers and listen to her favorite song: “Don’t Stop Believing,” by Journey.

David said the ritual helps them honor her memory and helps each other overcome the pain.

“It’s just when doing families together like that, we certainly lean on each other because it affected the whole family. So we lean on each other. And I think it certainly helps,” he said.

The family also gathers to release butterflies each year on Wells’ birthday.

Marc Mongan accepted a plea deal for reckless conduct in the case, with charges of aggravated DUI and reckless homicide dropped. He was sentenced to 30 months of probation.

The Swazieks wrote a book about their ordeal, entitled Betrayed by the Justice System: What Was Done in the Dark Will be Brought Into the Light.