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Heartfelt Moments: Grief and Healing After Tragedy

Speaking with Andy Beyer, who lost his wife, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins broke down in tears. Brielle, 12, and Justyna, 42, perished in the American Airlines disaster on Wednesday, January 29.
In the devastating interview, Andy stated, “I have these moments of extreme sadness and tears and then I get flat and numb.” “I want people to have a memory of them so that they live on,” he continued. He remarked, “That’s why I wanted to share their story,” before Collins broke down in tears as well.

Speaking to a man who lost both his wife and his 12-year-old daughter in the American Airlines tragedy, CNN news presenter Kaitlan Collins became emotional.

Following the death of his daughter Brielle and her mother Justyna, 42, in the disaster following American Airlines flight 5342’s collision with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C. on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 29, Collins, 32, spoke with Andy Beyer on her show The Source on Tuesday, Feb. 4.

Following the collision over the Potomac River, authorities have announced that the bodies of all 67 fatalities have subsequently been retrieved.

“I go through these moments of extreme sadness and tears and then I get flat and numb,” Andy, who was tearful during the heartbreaking discussion, said in an interview with Collins. Then, you know, I feel bad for not crying all the time. It has simply been extremely difficult.

After attending the U.S. Figure Skating National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas, Brielle was one of several young skaters returning to Washington, D.C., with family.

“They deserve to be remembered, like all the victims,” Andy remarked in reference to his choice to come out about Brielle and Justyna. They are deserving of the world to know their story.

Everyone dies, don’t they? And our recollections are how they continue to exist. And in order for them to endure, I want people to have a recollection of them. He continued, “That’s why I wanted to share their story,” as Collins began to become agitated as well, wiping her eyes and momentarily stopping the conversation.

In response, the presenter said, “Thank you for coming on to talk about that, Andy. I think everyone would be really touched to hear from you.”

“We were supposed to pick them up, me and my son, like we did from these trips all the time,” Andy said to Collins when he talked about how he learned of the crash.

“I knew something was wrong when we were waiting for them in a parking lot near Reagan [Washington National Airport] and we were texting them just before they were supposed to land. The tracker said landed, and the texts changed from blue to green, and firetrucks began passing by,” he added.

After that, Andy made a call to someone who could verify that the crash was caused by Brielle and Justyna’s plane.

Collins was informed by Andy that his 6-year-old son just yelled “No!” at that moment. It ached a lot. That’s how we learned about it before it was formally announced. “We knew already,” he recalled.

Andy praised his daughter Brielle, a member of the Skating Club of Northern Virginia, as “a joy and a gift.”

“You just never think something like this could happen to you, and that it could be taken away from you,” said the man.

When Brielle was diagnosed with cancer at the age of four months, he related that it was “like waking up to a nightmare,” but he also acknowledged that “at least there was hope” and that they “had this sense of relief” once she was cured.

“I’m going to miss her so much,” Andy said Collins, describing his wife Justyna as his “soulmate” and “the most wonderful mother.” He insisted that they were “living our dream” with their family.

“Andy, you are both obviously wonderful parents. I just wanted to let you know that you are in everyone’s thoughts and prayers right now. Everyone is truly thinking of you two, even though I know that doesn’t help,” Collins remarked.

As of Wednesday, February 5, a GoFundMe created by family friends to help Andy and his son had generated about $131,400. Brielle and Justyna’s death is described as a “unimaginable loss” on the page, and Justyna was a “devoted mother” who “sacrificed so much for her family, especially to provide for Brielle’s future, as she was highly talented and would have been an Olympic figure skater.”

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