JACKSON COUNTY, MI – When Mellisa Schuler’s car battery died at the gas pump a few weeks ago, Brooke Newman was there immediately.
“I definitely stayed out of her way,” Schuler said. “And when I called her, she just came right away.”
The rescue is just one example of one of the things Schuler will miss most about Newman, she said.
Read more: Police identify 23-year-old who died when his car overturned on the highway
Newman, 23, of Jackson was killed in a car crash near Nicholson Road in Handy Township on Aug. 10, confirmed Lt. Chad Sell of the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office. She was a student at the Dorsey College of Nursing in Wayne and worked as a certified nursing assistant at the Jackson County Medical Care Facility, according to an obituary released by the Desnoyer Funeral Home in Jackson.
She also graduated from Lumen Christi Catholic High School in 2018 and is a licensed esthetician from the Brighton Institute of Cosmetology.
Schuler and Newman were professionally inseparable, said Schuler, 39, who works at the medical facility.
“We just got along well. She was so cheerful and so helpful,” Schuler said. “We worked side by side.”
The couple had a weekly tradition of ordering lunch on Fridays and taking turns getting energy drinks “to just get through the day,” Schuler said.
Read more: Car overturned several times in accident, 23-year-old woman from Jackson died
Newman was focused on completing her training to become a registered nurse, Schuler said. She believes Newman loved the profession and wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
“She talked about what a strong woman her mother was,” Schuler said. Newman also spoke frequently about her sisters and their family dog, she said.
Newman was driving west on I-96 around 2:40 a.m. when her vehicle went off the right side of the road, struck a tree and rolled several times. The car did not strike any other vehicles, police said.
Read more: Police identify 23-year-old who died when his car overturned on the highway
She was pronounced dead at the scene. Speed, alcohol and drugs appeared to have contributed to the accident, police said.
Few residents at the Jackson facility knew of Newman’s death, but she and her colleagues were devastated, Schuler said.
“Every day I go to work is hard knowing she won’t be there,” Schuler said.
At Newman’s funeral, “everyone was there,” Schuler said. Some of her friends came in pink, Newman’s favorite color.
During the funeral, Newman’s sister spoke about how independent and loyal she was – something Schuler said she noticed too. Nothing could ever stop Newman from achieving her goals, she added.
“She was really, really loved,” Schuler said.
Newman is survived by his father, Daniel Newman, his mother, Karen Newman, his sisters, Baylie Martin and Blake Gillig, and his grandfather, Jerald Posey. Attempts to speak to the family were unsuccessful.
