Tragedy Rends Family

There’s a terrible sense of deja vu for those making sympathy calls to the yellow house on 13th Street.

“It’s just not fair,” said one friend, quietly. “I can’t believe it,” said another.

Four months ago, at age 43, Darrell Brooks died of a heart attack, leaving Kristie, his wife of 19 years, to raise their two daughters. Then, on Sunday, came the second horrific blow: A car accident claimed the life of Kristie, 39, and left one of her daughters seriously injured.

“We’re all just numb,” said a neighbor, her eyes swollen with tears, about the Brooks family’s latest tragedy. “It was bad enough that these kids had to lose their dad. . . . Now their mother? Things like this are just not supposed to happen.”

The crash occurred about 2:30 p.m. Sunday on Interstate 40 near Barstow as Kristie Brooks and her daughter Danyel, 15, were returning from a weekend trip to Laughlin, Nev. Brooks apparently fell asleep at the wheel, and the car swerved off the road.

Danyel, a student at the Orange County High School for the Performing Arts, was aided by a passing motorist until paramedics arrived. She remains in serious condition at Desert Hospital in Palm Springs. Her mother died at the scene.

An hour and a half behind Danyel and her mother on the highway was another family member, Kristie Brooks’ sister, Kathy Overholtzer--who came upon the tragic scene. The Brooks’ younger daughter, Jamie, 11, was on a church outing over the weekend and was not involved in the accident. The Laughlin trip was for a reunion of the extended family.

“Kathy’s holding up well, considering what she’s had to deal with,” said a family friend. “This is hard on all of us, especially Kathy and the girls.”

On the mantel in the Brookses’ living room, a small pink heart is framed with words that friends said Kristie Brooks lived by: “Live well . . . laugh often . . . dream always . . . love deeply.”

“The biggest message Kris gave all of us is that we should always do those little things,” said longtime friend and neighbor Holly Scott, who has been caring for Jamie since the accident. “Like helping the lady across the street pull weeds because she just had knee surgery--those kinds of things. She taught us that not only is every day important, but every minute is important.”

Days after the accident, the news was still raw as it spread throughout the close-knit seaside community. Kristie Brooks, who worked as a court reporter in Long Beach, was still referred to by many in the present tense.

“She really is the best mom I’ve ever known,” said friend Nikki Braun, fielding calls at the Brooks house. “She always does for others.”

John Blaydes, principal at McGaugh Elementary School in Seal Beach, which both girls had attended and where Kristie Brooks was involved in everything from drama productions to the annual school carnival, described her death as a tremendous loss. “She was a super parent. She helped with everything,” he said.

Kristie and Darrell Brooks were 20-year residents of Seal Beach. They never moved from their first home on 13th Street, the house where Jamie was born when there wasn’t time to get Kristie Brooks to the hospital. Darrell Brooks assisted with the delivery. The couple were active in every aspect of their children’s lives, from orchestrating toddler play groups and elementary school plays to helping lead Girl Scouts.

Darrell Brooks was an X-ray technician and part-time house painter. When he died suddenly Nov. 5, he was bidding on a paint job. He was buried at sea, a wish he had expressed to his wife not long before his death. A funeral service in town drew more than 250 mourners. Then, just three weeks later, Darrell Brooks’ mother died, and his wife and daughters grappled with another loss.

“Kris hadn’t even had a chance to take care of the paperwork after Darrell died,” said friend and neighbor Rhonda Hjelm. “It was just starting to sink in.”

Friends and family said that a memorial service for Kristie Brooks will not be scheduled until Danyel’s condition improves and she can attend. Survivors include Kristie Brooks’ sister, Kathy Overholtzer of Brea; and Darrell Brooks’ brother, Randy Brooks of Irvine, and father, Bill Brooks of Hemet.

An honor student at Oak Middle School in Los Alamitos, Jamie said she is dealing with her mother’s death by consoling others “and being really strong, because everyone is crying.”

At school Tuesday, Jamie said she received “thousands of cards and thousands of hugs.” She planned to visit her sister at the hospital later in the evening. The two have not yet been able to talk about what has happened.

“Danyel’s really hurt, and she’s really bruised. I’m trying to hang in there, because everyone else is crying,” said Jamie, far more composed than those around her.

“My mom was a wonderful, wonderful lady. She loved to snuggle, she loved the mountains, and she was really funny. You don’t know how much you’re going to miss them until they’re gone.”

A memorial fund to benefit Jamie and Danyel Brooks has been established: The Brooks Family Memorial Fund, Wells Fargo Bank, 5030 2nd St., Long Beach, CA 90803. Calls: (310) 408-1400.