Travis and Ashley Askew were the parents of three little girls. Five-year-old LJ, 3-year-old Lilly and 6-month-old Haley were all riding along on Father's Day when the family van hit a car head-on.
The Kansas Highway Patrol said 56-year-old Ronald Heston of Oskaloosa, Iowa, went off the road and over-corrected. He collided head-on into a mini-van carrying the Basehor family. Travis, Ashley and Haley were all killed in the crash.
"Sunday night about 10 p.m. I got a call from a member of the church saying that a couple who were heart-deep in the life of our church lost their life in a tragic car accident," said Duane McCracken, pastor at First Baptist Church of Basehor, where the Askew family were members. "Two years ago they walked in for a Sunday morning worship service and they came back that night. Shortly after, they joined the church."
The couple was active in the church. Travis Askew served on the sound ministry and the whole family regularly went to Sunday school and Bible study.
McCracken told 41 Action News they were a vital part of the church and "Ashley was the kind of person who when she walked into a room, brightened it up."
Now, efforts are underway to help pay for funeral expenses and the needs of LJ and Lilly, who will be staying with their grandfather.
"My hope is they'll always know that mom and dad loved them and that they were a priority in their life just below God, and even though they won't ever see them again on this earth, they will always carry in their hearts a part of their mother and father," McCracken said.
If you'd like to help the family, you have a couple of options. There is a GoFundMe page set up and an option to donate to the Askew family through the church.
A funeral will be held Friday at First Baptist Church of Basehor.
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Dia Wall can be reached at dia.wall@kshb.com.
