Ashley Younger was relentlessly optimistic.
The look in her eyes, the breadth of her smile only a warning to the world that she was about to leave her mark.
The Frostburg freshman's optimism was only dimmed by her mother's; eager to see just what this remarkable young woman would accomplish.
"She was on her way, on her way. Honor roll, she worked part time jobs, a volunteer at the hospital in Alexandria, VA. She was on her way," said her mother Stephanie Younger.
Ashley's life took a deadly detour. She was one of five aboard Trooper 2.
While her friend Jordan Wells survived, Ashley and her aspirations of being an accountant died in a twisted pile of metal and jet fuel two miles short of Andrews Air Force base.
Her mother Stephanie will never forget the last words she spoke to her daughter before the Maryland medevac lifted off from the original car accident scene in Charles County.
"I told her I loved her and that I'd be waiting on her at the hospital."
She waited, and waited. The confusion about where the chopper was that night eventually led to anger and ultimately a paralyzing grief.
Stephanie overheard a nurse say hours later there were no other survivors.
“It's awful, it's awful,” cried Younger, “It is very painful because I wake up wondering what the last things she was listening too, what were the last things she said. A lot of things go through my mind every day, every day."
Life without her only daughter is no life at all. Ashley was Stephanie's friend; her inspiration. An inspiration now rooted in figuring what went wrong that night.
"We are looking into a range of issues to find out exactly what went wrong. Apparently lots of things went wrong," said Younger’s attorney Cara Luther.
Specializing in aviation lawsuits, Luther's firm is investigating the accident, decisions made that night and maintenance issues in the Maryland State Police Aviation Command. At particular issue are the communications detailing the confusing two hour search for the wreckage despite a state of the art satellite tracking system that experts of the technology say should have immediately pinpointed the downed chopper.
"We definitely want and we will see that changes are made so that this type of accident never happens again," said Luther
And so Luther’s firm has put the state of Maryland on notice that a lawsuit may be coming from Younger.
"They took my life, they took my parents life. They took a young lady that was going to do great things for this world. They took a lot, they took a lot," wept Younger, "I just want to know everything that happened to my daughter. I want to know what decisions were made for her not to be with me."
A trying process for a grieving mother, but one Stephanie believes she owes Ashley's legacy; honoring her daughter's life by using what she believes was Ashley's wrongful death to get answers.
The younger family isn't the only one that may file suit over last year's crash.
The family of EMT Tonya Mallard and survivor Jordan Wells has also filed claims putting the state on notice that a lawsuit may be coming.
Maryland State Police declined comment on this story because of the pending litigation but says they have instituted several changes making the fleet and its management safer.
While Younger waits on answers she is determined to keep her daughter’s memory alive. She created a scholarship in Ashley’s name and it is awarded to one Charles County high school senior every year. She tells us the winner must meet GPA standards and be as active in the community as Ashley was. Stephanie awarded the first scholarship this past May.
