WhatsNew2Day – Latest News And Breaking Headlines
A grieving mother who lost her son in a car crash has failed to come to terms with the tragedy and still dwells on his last words to her.
Professional motocross rider Cohn Evans, 22, was killed when the car he was traveling in left the road and crashed into a tree near Logan, south of Brisbane, on November 30 last year .
The other two men in the car were also injured, including the driver, Joshua Jordan John Boyton, who was later charged with a series of serious offences.
Cohn would have celebrated his 23rd birthday on Thursday.
Eleven months later, his mother Dolly Evans still ritually turns on the porch light each night, as a coda to their last conversation.
As he prepared to get into Boyton’s car, she said she would make them some spaghetti to share when she returned.
Dolly Evans (left) still replays in her head the last conversation she had with her son Cohn (right)
“I’ll be home for dinner,” were Cohn’s last words to his mother.
Dolly Evans (left) still turns on the porch light for her son (right) every evening
“Normally he would walk through the door around 5:30 p.m. 5:30 came… 6pm came – I tried to message him, he didn’t respond… then we got a very unusual text message that said “I heard about Cohn’s accident – I don’t know if you want to talk… if you’re ready to talk,” Ms. Evans told the Courier mail.
She initially thought the person was referring to the motocross accident Cohn had had several months earlier and texted back to say he was “doing fine.”
She finally realized something was horribly wrong when the person replied, “I think we’re talking about another accident.” »
By the time she and her husband Jason discovered their son had just been in an accident and drove 11 miles to the scene, Cohn was already dead.
“We didn’t know where we were going, but I knew it was bad because he wasn’t answering the phone…I just kept ringing and ringing,” she recalled.
A good Samaritan had held Cohn’s hand for two hours until his parents arrived, who stayed at the crash site in the cold rain until 2 a.m., thinking about what happened. had passed.
Dolly Evans described her son Cohn as “full of life” who always saw the best in everyone.
Cohn Evans was a professional motocross rider before his life was tragically cut short
Boyton was charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death, operation of an uninsured vehicle on a highway, operation of a defective vehicle, operation of a non-compliant modified vehicle and default to stay there and provide assistance.
Police allege in court documents that Boyton made “modifications to the engine” of the car and failed to make a “reasonable effort” to contact emergency services after the crash.
The personal trainer remains free on bail and will next appear at Beenleigh Magistrates’ Court next week.
Ms Evans said she and her husband Jason struggled to accept that someone whose livelihood was in danger could die in what should have been harmless circumstances: “It kills us, he was with people he thought were his friends.”
“We always knew what our sport could do, Cohn had lost friends killed in motocross, friends paralyzed from motocross…I think Cohn would have preferred that to have happened,” Ms Evans said.
“I know if the shoe was on the other foot – if it was my son driving – he would have stayed the course… he would have called an ambulance, he would have faced these parents.”
Cohn Evans (pictured) was sitting in the back seat when the car he was traveling in allegedly lost control and hit a tree.
Cohn’s death last November sparked an outpouring of tributes. Pictured are flowers left by friends at the scene of the accident.
Ms Evans described her son as “full of life” and a positive character who always saw the best in everyone.
He was also a “homebody” who didn’t celebrate a birthday party with friends until he was 18 and was a father figure to his two young nephews whom he adored.
Cohn grew up with the dream of following in the tire tracks of his father, who was also a motocross racer.
“(Cohn) was our backup plan, we weren’t going to a nursing home, he was going to look after us,” Ms Evans said.
“He was a mama’s boy – he came home every night – I always wait for that… every night… the light comes on and I wait and wait.”
Cohn’s death sparked an outpouring of tributes at the time, with dozens of friends attending a vigil at the crash site.
Cohn Evans (pictured) should have celebrated his 23rd birthday on Thursday
The night before the accident, a close friend, Renee Speare, comforted Cohn who had endured a “rough week.”
“If I had known this was the last time I would see you, I would never have let go,” she wrote after his death.
“You always supported me. If anyone said a bad word about me you were there to defend me, you told me if anything happened you would make sure the boys took care of me.
“It breaks my heart to know that this won’t happen again, honestly, you have been such a blessing in my life, Cohn, and I’m so happy that I got to spend your last weekend here with you.
“I know you will look down on me, and I will continue to make you proud and get rid of you because all you ever wanted was for me to be happy.”
Another friend added: “Honestly you were such an amazing person and we will miss you so much words can’t describe the person you were not only to me but to everyone! You were always so happy and we will definitely miss you! Don’t forget to party there until we meet again, I love you so much.
Cohn (left) was on holiday in Far North Queensland with friends three weeks before his death