Debra Loyd has been struggling these last few months since her grandson Michael lost his life. Michael Lee Myvett was one of 10 others who died in April when a FedEx tractor-trailer crossed over the median of Interstate 5 and collided head-on with a tour bus outside of Orland, California. Myvett, 29, and his fiancee Mattison Haywood, 26, were two of three chaperones on the tour bus, which was transporting a group of underprivileged high school students to Humboldt State University for a campus visit.
On Monday, Loyd and other family members made the trip to Orland, to visit the crash site and meet with the first responders and law enforcement officials who answered the call in the immediate aftermath of the April 10 crash. It was her first time visiting the site. “Was it as bad as they said it was on TV?” Loyd asked Kyle Cessna of the Orland Police Department. “It was pretty bad,” was Cessna’s reply.
Loyd and members of her family made the trip to Orland seeking closure. She and other family members placed a wreath at a memorial for the crash victims, just a few steps up a hill from where the crash happened. “I’m never going to forget you,” Loyd told her grandson.
At a reception honoring the American Red Cross volunteers who assisted in the aftermath of the crash, Loyd offered hugs and expressed thanks, according to ChicoER. Once the reception was over, the family left Orland and returned home. Hopefully, their visit will provide Loyd and her family the peace and closure they were seeking.