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A BRAVE mum whose son died in a horrific car crash said sympathy for his death is “undeserved”.
Melissa McGuinness recounted her uncertainty about whether to hold a funeral for her son, Jordan, after he tragically killed four people and himself in a drink-driving incident.
Jordan was driving over the alcohol and speed limit when he unintentionally smashed into a broken down car, killing himself and four others.
Melissa said: “He left a little girl orphaned that night.”
The victims have been named as Natasha Alison Maggs, Tiana Marie Williams, Kody Peter Tugaga Holland-Williams and Allan John Sullivan.
In a poignant admission, Melissa and her husband, Peter, expressed that they believe sympathy should be extended “solely” to the victims and their families.
Speaking on the I Catch Killers podcast, Melissa bravely noted: “He would never have intended to harm anyone that night, especially not the family he cherished, let alone his victims and their families, yet he did through his choices.”
The couple described the overwhelming guilt that surpassed the grief of losing their son, especially when they learned about the accident.
They considered not holding a funeral, feeling Jordan had “lost the right” to a celebration after causing the deaths of four innocent individuals.
Melissa recalled: “I remember sitting with my father the week it happened, and he asked, ‘Do you want me to help with funeral arrangements?’ I replied, ‘Dad, how do you hold a funeral for someone who’s just killed four people?’”
Peter added: “We didn’t have our service for Jordan until after the poor other kids were laid to rest.”
But the couple have turned their pain into action, founding You Choose – a campaign empowering teens to make better driving safety choices.
Touring schools in Australia, the couple have made it their mission to make sure as many teens as possible “learn from the choices Jordan made that night”.
Fuelled by grief, Melissa said the mission is now what drives her.
She said: “All of my strength comes from that hand on heart”.
And despite initial hesitations, the couple admitted they were pleased to have held a funeral for their son.
Recalling the Sunday before Jordan died, Melissa told how she had bought a black dress he said she looked pretty in.
She said: “I just remember thinking: oh my goodness, did I just get a compliment from my son? So in amongst buying all of his stuff, I bought that black dress.
“It happened to be the same black dress that I wore 19 days later at his funeral.”
It comes just days after four friends were killed in a horror car crash on their way home from a concert in California.
Two others from another car were injured in the smash and one person was arrested under suspicion of DUI.