On the morning of October 9, 2016, tragedy struck in just a small town of New York by the name of Rye. One of my really good friends, Robby Schartner, was walking home alone from the Downtown White Plains area, where all the bars of the college town are, when he got hit by a drunk driver. He did not make it. When I got the call from one of his half sisters, I was absolutely heart broken. It is so scary how precious life really is. I was in New York for the weekend and I was texting Robby that day, and through the night.
I met Robby five years ago in Connecticut when I was staying at my Uncles’s house on Candlewood Lake and went to fill up the boat with gas with my family. The moment I laid eyes on him, I knew I wanted to know him. The moment we spoke our first words to each other, I knew we were going to be friends. He was with two other dock boys and not being from the area my dad asked them what there is to do in Connecticut that would considered “fun.” When my dad asked that, Robby asked where we were from, my dad told him California, and he responded by saying, “go back home.” We exchanged our phone numbers and talked that whole week I was visiting. We went boating together, tubing, swimming in the lake, barbecued with my family, etc… We were instant friends, and we grew to have feelings very fond of each other, very fast. We would text until dawn, and then meet up the next day to hang out. We could trust each other with anything and everything.
When my family and I were leaving Connecticut, we didn't know what to do in regards to our relationship. We felt like more, but we knew we could only be friends. We had no idea when we would see each other next… Turns out we saw each other just a couple of months later!! His sister and his brother both live in California and he would visit them every summer. Every time he was in my hometown, he would reach out to me to hang out. He met my friends, we went to concerts in the park, swam, hung out at my house, etc… Life with him was amazing.
This past summer was the one summer, we just couldn't manage to meet up; however, I did not realize it was going to be my last chance to see him. He was down in California for about five days for his older brothers wedding. Every time he would ask me to hang out, I was either busy at work, or doing something with my family. On the other hand, every time I would ask him to hang out, he had his brother’s rehearsal dinner, he was babysitting his niece and nephew, or he had a massage appointment {which he was actually very nervous for}. It breaks my heart that we did not end up seeing each other again, and we wont meet again until it’s my time to enter the golden gates above.
I will always remember him making me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world… Robby NEVER used the words “hot” or “sexy” to describe me. He was close with his mom and adored her greatly. The first night we hung out in Connecticut, he would not stop talking about how wonderful his mama was and how he looked up to his big brother. He would continuously tell me he was going to marry me one day; however, I thought he was always joking, until I officially met met his brother at the wake, when the first thing he said to me was, “Oh my goodness, you are the girl my brother was going to propose to. You guys were next.” I bawled my eyes out hearing how much he told his family about me. I did not want the reason of meeting his family to be his death.
I could not sleep, eat, or stop crying for days. I still think about touching the casket at his funeral and having chills rush through my entire body. It will be the last memory I have in correlation to him. Just two days before I touched the casket, Robby was making fun of me for how “West Coast” I am, and the fact that he was going to move to the West Coast after college just crushes me even more.
Driving under the influence is extremely dangerous and should never be done, whatsoever. Do NOT risk your life, or the lives of others. Always make sure you have a designated driver to drive you places {aka home}, use an app like Uber or Lyft, and NEVER let anybody get into a car after drinking. A drunk driver took the life of one of the greatest guys that ever entered my life. I do not have pictures with him because whenever we were together, there was no care of anything happening on social media or anywhere else. All my memories with Robby will forever be engraved in my mind and although his life was taken WAY too soon, he will never be forgotten.
Love you forever and always Robby Schartner. Although I would have done anything for this to not happen to you, thank you for now being my guardian angel.
The family has created a Go Fund Me account on behalf and in memory of Robby, so please do not hesitate to reach out to them or donate:
Also, If you are interested in reading more on the accident click any of the below links:
texts with Robby from the first week I met him {after he asked me what I thought of him and to explain the perfect guy that I would date to him}
When I used to have a tumblr, this was the first post I actually put time and thought into and it just so happened to be about Robby. He meant so much to me and made such a huge impact on my life.
Five years later and he still told me he was going to marry me... I pray to God every night that he will not forget about me and will be one of the first to greet me when it is my turn to enter the gates of Heaven. I hope to one day be embraced into his arms, once again, and see his contagious smile. Life without him will not be the same.
