EXCLUSIVEDevastated dad who tracked his teen daughters' phones to horror car crash site reveals heartbreaking details about their final moments - and his touching final tribute to them both
A father who tracked his two teenage daughters' phones to a horror car crash site where he discovered both had been killed has revealed their heartbreaking final moments and how he plans to pay tribute to them.
Brian Trumble, 45, told DailyMail.com he called his daughters Hailey, 19, and Shelby, 17, multiple times after they failed to return home from the Seabreeze Amusement Park in Rochester, New York, on August 1.
After tracking them on the Find My Friends app, Brian drove a few miles to their location and found police already cordoning off the scene.
He described how he collapsed on his car bumper and 'couldn't stand up' when first responders told him one of the girls in the accident had died.
Brian later learned a fireman had stayed by his other daughter's side 'until the end'.
In an interview with DailyMail.com, the devastated father has now revealed he plans to scatter Hailey and Shelby's cremated ashes so they can 'always be together.'
In an interview with DailyMail.com, Hailey and Shelby's dad Brian described how he collapsed on his car bumper and 'couldn't stand up' when first responders told him one of the girls in the accident had died
On Thursday night, Brian Trumble, 45, tragically discovered that his daughter's Hailey, 19, and Shelby, 17, (pictured) died in a horrific car crash in upstate New York after tracking their cell phones
Brian, a farmer, told DailyMail.com that police at the scene had eventually told him to go home to wait for news, which made him believe his girls were already gone.
The sisters were riding in a Chevy Cobalt traveling eastbound on Ira Hill Road when their car 'crested a hill and crossed into the opposite lane, striking a second vehicle,' the sheriff's office announced Monday.
'Both Hailey and Shelby Trumble died as a result of the injuries they sustained at the time of the crash,' he said.
Just before the girls left for the amusement park that day Brian gave them $100, told them he loved him and to 'have fun and behave.'
Brian believes his daughters were unfamiliar with the 'hilly, windy road' when the crash took place.
The other driver, identified as Robin Latham, 59, was transported to Syracuse University Hospital with serious injuries, where she remains in stable condition.
The girls - who have a 21-year old brother and two step-sisters - had recently graduated high school.
Hailey graduated in 2023 and Shelby, who completed a Oswego BOCES Cosmetology program, in 2024.
He recalled his final in-person conversation was earlier that morning when he gave them $100 and told them he loved them and to 'have fun and behave,' People reported.
He and the girls' mother, Tina, described their daughters as 'simple country girls' who loved animals and being outdoors. (pictured: Hailey, Shelby and their mother pictured in 2017)
Brian believes his daughters were unfamiliar with the 'hilly, windy road' when the crash took place
Their father told DailyMail.com Hailey was supposed to start a new job at a daycare on the Monday after the crash and that she 'had a way about her that little kids were just drawn to her.'
Meanwhile, his younger daughter, Shelby, worked at a local farm stand selling vegetables.
'She loved it. She was my quiet kid and prankster,' he said.
He and the girls' mother, Tina, described their daughters as 'simple country girls' who loved animals and being outdoors.
Their love for animals began at a young age when they would spend time on their grandparents' farm, caring for cows and pigs.
The family also had cats and dogs, and once even took in a pet raccoon, Tina said.
As teenagers, the close-knit sisters would also walk to a pasture near their home to see horses - and would always bring a few carrots and apples to feed them, she noted.
The sisters were also volunteers with the CNY Cat Coalition, and had just rescued two kittens named Smokey and Bandit, who were thrown out a car window, in the days before their deaths.
The girls enjoyed fishing growing up, with mom Tina recounting how when Shelby was in elementary school, she would hop off the bus and run straight to the pond
A memorial filled with big white crosses has been set up at the crash scene in honor of the sisters
The girls had recently graduated high school, Hailey in 2023 and Shelby in 2024 - completing an Oswego BOCES Cosmetology program
Hailey's cat needed an amputation, and she was expecting to see it after their trip to Seabreeze on Thursday.
'Our hearts go out to the Trumble family and everyone who loved Hailey and Shelby,' the CNY Cat Coalition said in a Facebook post about the late sisters.
'As one of their last acts of kindness, these incredible sisters rescued a pair of abandoned kitten sisters, Bandit and Smokey, helped foster them through the Cat Coalition, and were planning to adopt them.'
Brian explained that both Shelby and Hailey were 'very protective' of him and would even use the Find My Friends app to track him during his late night shifts on the farm.
Although both Brian and Tina raised their girls, he recalled: 'I raised them myself for quite a few years… they always took care of me.'
He added that the girls were both organ donors. 'Hopefully they helped countless people,' Brian said.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to assist the family in paying for the sister's funerals.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the fundraiser surpassed its goal of $10,000 - reaching more than $43,000.
As teenagers, the close-knit sisters would walk to a pasture near their home to see horses
Brian plans to scatter Hailey and Shelby's cremated ashes so they can 'always be together'
The cause of the fatal collision remains unclear, and an investigation is ongoing.
A memorial was set up on the side of the road for the sisters with two big white crosses and the letters 'H' and 'S' on them.
'It's much too early to say exactly what happened, and what caused this crash and what factors were involved,' Sheriff Brian Schneck told CNY Central.
'But we are looking at every piece of evidence that we can.'
He added that officials have not found any evidence that any of the drivers were intoxicated at the time of the crash.
Brian commended the police and fire department for all of their help and called them 'incredible people' for being there for his daughters.
'I wish I could've helped my daughters,' he said.
'Tell your kids you love them, hug them everyday.'
