On Friday, July 18, Dennis Lewis, 35, drove to the Illinois hospital hours before the arranged pickup time because he was so excited to see his baby daughter.
Even though Harley would be returning home later that day, Dennis had returned for the lone visit since he didn’t like being apart from her. Dennis had last seen his baby girl the night before, when fiancée Amberly Trocke was released from the hospital.
Customer service representative Amberly, 30, tells PEOPLE, “He wanted her to know we were there and not be alone.” Amberly, who had given birth to their little baby three days prior, was waiting with her elder daughter, Davina Jade, at the family’s Round Lake Beach house for her boyfriend to come home. The pair intended to drive back to Highland Park Hospital together to pick up Harley at 4 p.m. after he returned.
Dennis texted Amberly while she was in the hospital to inform her that their daughter had woken up at the sound of his voice, just like she had done when he spoke to her in utero. He then called at 1:39 p.m. to let me know that he was going to have some dinner before going home.
According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to an accident between a motorbike and a semi-truck at an intersection in Green Oaks at around 2:39 p.m., an hour later.
As he reached Bradley Road, witnesses informed authorities that the motorcyclist, subsequently identified as Dennis, was heading west on Route 176 with a green light ahead. He was declared dead at the spot after colliding with a semi-truck that was turning left. The 50-year-old McHenry man who piloted the semi-truck was unharmed and complied with investigators. According to information provided to PEOPLE by the Lake County Coroner’s Office, Dennis passed away as a result of “blunt force injuries of the head and neck” sustained in the crash. The circumstances behind the crash are still being investigated.
The circumstances behind the crash are still being investigated. Only a few weeks after giving birth, Amberly is currently attempting to fill the void left by Dennis’s passing. Her voice breaks as she utters, “What I love about him is the way he took care of us and protected us.” “I just want him here more than anything else.”
When time passed on the Friday of the crash and Dennis still hadn’t come home, the new mother became worried. In order to bring Harley home, a friend named DJ took her to the hospital with Davina, whose fourth birthday was in two days, by 4 p.m., the much-anticipated pickup time. In order to find out if there was a patient with Dennis’s name, Amberly called hospitals along the path he would have drove. She claims, “He wasn’t the type of person you had to worry about.” “So, I had a gut feeling that something wasn’t right.”
When Dennis’ mother called to inform them that they had been informed of an accident but didn’t think it was real, Amberly was in the backseat with Harley and Davina on the way back.
When Amberly called the police, she was assured that they would come to her Round Lake Beach home, but they would not provide any other information. She realized then that her true love had passed away. “I called my mom while I was crying and screaming,” she says. “I was so upset that I couldn’t help but hold my [older] daughter’s ears while she claims they hurt.”
Amberly didn’t find out until much later that Dennis, a transmission technician, intended to pop the question after their baby was born. According to her, “it just hurts that we didn’t get to finish that part of our life.” They first crossed paths in 2022, but they didn’t start dating until almost a year ago. She claims, “He was made for me.” “We were meant to be together.”
Davina wasn’t Dennis’ biological child, but he treated her like his own and intended to adopt her when she was old enough to make that choice for herself, Amberly continues.
According to his cousin Stephanie Cornell, who recently saw Dennis at the couple’s June baby shower, Dennis was overjoyed to learn that Amberly was expecting a child.
According to Stephanie, who enjoyed going to concerts with her younger cousin, “he was so proud to start his family.” Dennis showed Stephanie throughout the house he had remodeled during the party, showing her Davina’s newly painted room and the newly painted nursery with matching tables. “Seeing him become a father makes me happier than I’ve ever seen him in my entire life.” Brianna Vance, her daughter who set up a GoFundMe for Dennis’ family, concurs. Brianna writes, “He was so happy to bring Harley home and raise her in the house that he and Amberly had so lovingly built.”
Amberly claims that dealing with his passing has been quite challenging.
Davina keeps questioning who will play with her now that Dennis is unable to give her piggyback rides, so she requested her family to help organize a birthday celebration for her. She also told her mother that she had a dream about Dennis when she was four years old. According to Amberly, “he said I love you back after she told him she loved him.” “She simply misses him terribly.”
With baby Harley, who is battling a possible gastrointestinal problem that doctors have not yet been able to diagnose, the mother has been in and out of the hospital in the interim.
As she looks at our children, she remarks, “It is just really, really, really hard.”
Amberly knows Dennis is keeping an eye on them all, despite the fact that a part of her heart is missing.
She continues, “Our protector is now protecting us from above.”