Mom turns pain into purpose after young daughter dies in Christmas crash

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A Christmas car accident on I-20 took the lives of 24-year-old Ryant Furtick and his 3-year-old God-daughter NuRiah Shannon.

Georgia State Patrol says the accident happened when a Dodge Charger entered the emergency lane and hit the back of a tractor-trailer catching the charger on fire.

Now the mother of the child is speaking out about the accident. We sat down with her to hear how she’s taking her pain and turning it into something beautiful.

Nkieria McCoy says Christmas 2022 is a nightmare she will never escape.

“One of my very first thoughts were, how am I just supposed to continue life? It’s just no way that I have to continue life without my daughter and her God-dad,” she said.

As her world is transforming before her eyes, she’s taken comfort in sharing her pain and the community of support she’s received on social media.

“When my world just seemed to have been going crazy, social media became my outlet, somewhere for me to go and vent or talk about it,” said McCoy.

As she keeps going, so does her impact.

“I went from 300 followers to 11,000 followers in two days,” she said.

Stretching as far as Chicago.

“I’ve never been to Chicago a day in my life. But a lot of those moms would reach out to, you know, send their condolences. I realized all in the same message that they’ve recently lost someone, or they’re going through the same thing, and just about seeing me be able to tell my story and just continue with life. It kind of motivates them,” she said.

McCoy says people feel like they know her daughter through her videos and how strong she was, so she’s combining the two to get her through.

“Since this has come about and I see how effective I could be just off of social media. Maybe publishing a book. I don’t really know where to start, but I do know soon,” said McCoy.

She says she plans to continue helping grieving families and that her purpose now is to reach out to those going through the same struggles.

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