Forced To Bury His Bride: Beaumont Widower Shares Their Story
BEAUMONT, CA — Adam Whitlatch went from groom to widower in the blink of an eye.
He and his Beaumont High School sweetheart Carlie Rose, 23, had just returned from their honeymoon last week when she was killed by a DUI suspect being chased by the California Highway Patrol. In an instant, he lost his wife and dreams for the future.
“I planned to grow old with her, and that was taken away from me,” Whitlatch told Patch.
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In mid-September, he married Carlie Rose, the love of his life. The pair went on a brief honeymoon and returned to start life in Beaumont as husband and wife. But on the night of Oct. 3, her car was struck by a DUI suspect evading California Highway Patrol officers near Morongo Trail and Seminole Drive, according to police. She died at the scene.
Hemet resident Jason McQueary, 48, was arrested and booked on charges of felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter, according to CHP officer Jonathan Torres. Jail records indicate he was freed on $75,000 bail and awaits a January court date.
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His release has caused anguish for Carlie Rose’s husband and parents as they struggle to make sense of her loss. Still, as they navigate the stages of grief, details of her life and her loving heart rise to the surface as if to help them from beyond.
Her father shared his thoughts on her husband on a GoFundMe page established to help her family.
“Carlie left behind her high school sweetheart and husband of just 13 days, Adam,” he wrote. “She was elated to start the next chapter of her life with him and to start their family. She wanted a house full of children.
“Adam and Carlie shared a love that so few of us experience in our lifetime. A husband should not have to use his wedding money to bury his wife!”
Friends and family emphasize Carlie Rose’s unapologetic love, laughter, kindness, and selflessness, no one more so than Whitlach, who shared his memory of his wife with Patch.
“She was beautiful,” he said. “She was elegant, loving, kind, loved animals, music, doing nails, hanging with friends, being an aunt, she couldn’t wait to have kids, she wanted so many kids.”
The two met as young teens and grew up together. Both graduated from Beaumont High School; he graduated in 2018, and she graduated in 2019. She supported his efforts to become an Olympic candidate in archery in 2020, and the two made a home in Beaumont.
Talking about Carlie Rose keeps her close, he said.
“She loved everyone, she never turned down a friendship, she always welcomed people with open arms. She had the most amazing smile that would turn your day from bad to good, she had a heart of gold, pure gold, she would push her own problems deep down to make sure someone else was okay. If you met her, you didn’t forget her.”
The Justice for Carlie Rose GoFundMe page has thus far raised just over $5,000.
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