After a tumultuous eight weeks since the death of their teenage daughter, Stephanie and Carlos Flores, along with their son Christian, are still taking it day by day.
Olivia Flores was only three weeks away from graduating from Owatonna High School, where she was known for her spirit as a cheerleader, her work with Young Life and her ability to befriend everyone, when she was involved in a May 18 car crash outside Rochester’s Apache Mall and died from the injuries she sustained. She was only 18.
A Minnesota State Patrol Trooper, 32-year-old Shane Roper, of Hayfield, was charged earlier this week in Olmsted County District Court with five felonies , including manslaughter and vehicular homicide, among other charges for his part in the incident, allegedly driving over 80 mph without his emergency lights on and colliding with the vehicle Olivia Flores was a passenger in.
While the family had some time to process the information in the criminal complaint before the charges were formally filed, Jon Oleson, Olivia’s uncle, said it’s like “ripping the Band-Aid off a wound that hasn’t healed.”
“Every day has been a mixture of shock, anger, sadness, relief … We understand this is going to be a long process with many days, weeks and months ahead of us feeling these emotions,” Oleson said. “The overwhelming support from the community has helped, but there is a hole in our hearts that can’t be filled, and that is the most difficult to try to come to terms with.”
Oleson noted that among these powerful emotions has come some joy, specifically in the “many wonderful stories” involving Olivia that have come from family and friends.
With their extended family and many friends surrounding them, the Flores family reached out to the People’s Press in hopes to extend their gratitude to the community of Owatonna.
A letter from the Flores family
“At the most difficult time of our lives, we have found the most caring and thoughtful people. We have received so many letters, cards and donations from the Owatonna community; it has truly been overwhelming! Many of those coming from community members whom we don’t know personally. We understand how this situation resonates with so many. We understand we aren’t the first family to lose a child, but we’ll do our best to make sure others don’t experience something similar. With that said, we want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has supported us during this difficult time.
“First, we recognize there are other victims in this tragedy. To Angelina and Kat Bartz: Olivia loved spending time with you. We’re glad she finally got to go “real” golfing for the first time with you that day. She was looking forward to it so much! We’re thankful she was able spend her last moments with her friends by her side. We know your recovery will take time, but we’ll support you just as the community has. We wish for you--and the others injured and affected by this crash--a full and complete recovery.
“While it’s impossible to thank each one of you individually in this letter, we want to publicly acknowledge the following businesses, organizations and people: Subway of Owatonna, Firehouse Subs of Rochester, Aaron Guzman Photography, Lifetouch Studios, Kory Kath and the Students, Faculty and Staff of Owatonna High School, Trinity Lutheran Church of Owatonna, Owatonna Cheer, OHS Cheerleading, OHS Cheer Moms, OHS Girls Lacrosse, OHS Boys Basketball, OHS Baseball, Owatonna Wrestling, Medford Tigers Cheerleading, Owatonna Eagles Club 1791, Owatonna/Steele County Young Life, On Point Awards, OHS Thriving Minds, Owatonna People’s Press, Jenna Compton, Lindsay Thompson, and Mariah Cuellar. We also want to acknowledge the following families for their help: the Ottes, McGinns, Radels, Frantesls, Burmeisters, Jirele/Gillespie, Stenzels, Arvigs, and Borweges. A special thank you to our family and friends, as well as the family of Dylan Lauwers. To all of you who have donated to the GoFundMe, sent cards, flowers, or dropped off gifts: THANK YOU!
“Additionally, we want to thank Dan McIntosh, Tom Braun, and the balance of our legal team at Restovich Braun & Associates for their guidance and compassion as they navigate this with us. Furthermore, we would like to thank the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office for the work they have done and will continue to do, as well as Rochester Police Department for their investigative efforts.
“Finally, a very special thank you to the First Responders and Olivia’s care team at St. Mary’s Hospital for their care, compassion, and professionalism in a heartbreaking situation. We take solace in knowing you did everything humanly possible to keep Olivia with us, and while her recovery was not meant to be, your care and dignity for her will never be forgotten.
“Please accept our sincerest apologies (as well as our profound thanks) if we unintentionally omitted you from this letter. It has taken every one of you to help us make it through this difficult time. We will need support from all of you as we continue to move forward in the weeks and months to come.
“Olivia loved life and loved being a teenager. She was so many things to so many people: fierce, loyal, compassionate, funny, adventurous…among so many great qualities. Perhaps her most important quality was love. She was always willing to help others who didn’t always fit in or were marginalized. She was intolerant of intolerance. She was perfectly imperfect. That was our Liv. While we miss her more than anyone can imagine, we will do everything possible for her memory to live on in our community.
“We’ll leave you with Olivia’s credo from her favorite musical artist and without question, her future husband (it was only a matter of time, right Liv?) Harry Styles: ‘Treat People with Kindness.’
“Thank you, Stephanie, Carlos and Christian Flores.”
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