SALT LAKE CITY — A stormy weekend on the Wasatch Front resulted in tragedy for one young woman and her family.
Ava Ahlander’s uncle, Bobby Ahlander, said she lived in the Pacific Northwest for the past several years, but she was born and raised in American Fork and graduated from American Fork High School.
This was supposed to be the perfect weekend for her. It was a chance to come home, and it was a chance to see some great artists surrounded by friends at the RedWest country music festival. But that took a terribly tragic turn as severe weather rolled in.
“It was about 5:00 on Saturday,” said Bobby. “Her and her friends had actually left to go back to their car for a little bit.”
He said Ava was looking for shelter there after the festival was evacuated because of the weather. Police said the wind picked up some nearby scaffolding.
“Her friend said some big wooden plank just flew through the air and hit her in the head,” Ahlander added.
Police said the vehicle was parked near 1055 W. North Temple, where an apartment building is currently under construction.
Ava was rushed to the hospital, but it was there that doctors discovered the injury had crushed her brain stem. She was on life support until she was pronounced dead Sunday night.
“Her life ended while she was doing exactly what she loved to do,” Bobby said. “She was 23. It’s awful. This is tragic.”
But at a young age, she made a choice that will allow her legacy to live on — quite literally.
“She had made the decision a few years ago to be an organ donor,” said Bobby. “And now, many people are going to benefit from that, and I just think that’s so beautiful.”
As they prepare to remember her life, they’ve set up a fundraiser to help her family with medical and funeral costs. They also hope to use the money to support her friends with grief counseling.
“They are beside themselves,” Bobby said. “They were trying to do CPR on her, they were calling 9-1-1, so we want to help them as well.”
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