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Husband Of Wife Killed By Distracted Driver: 'Put Away The Phones'

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The husband of a woman killed by a distracted driver urges people to put the phone down while they're on the road.

Thirty-three-year-old Andrea Boeve of Steen was riding her bike, pulling her two daughters behind her, when she was struck and killed in late June.

The driver of the pickup truck that hit them admitted he was doing banking on his phone at the time. Last week, Christopher Weber pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide.

The Boeves are figuring out how to move on without their wife and mother.

"We broke ground on our dream home probably 10 days before my wife's accident," said husband Matt Boeve.

They had grand plans for their future on the farm.

"We have two girls, and we're going to have more children. We even talked about adopting someday, you know," Matt said. "She just loved being a mom."

Andrea worked part time as a nurse practitioner. The rest of the time she spent with her girls. She would often take Claire and Mallorie on a bike ride, pulling them behind her along the road between their home and her in-laws.

"It scared me to have Andrea on the road, on the side of this road. I always said, 'Just be careful,'" Matt said. "Five months, there's still a lot of disbelief that it actually did happen to us, you know. Because we were at the high of our life, you know. Building a new house, life is good. Two healthy girls, and I thank God every day that I have my girls, because it could have been a lot worse."

The three were out for a regular ride in late June when the fatal accident happened. Matt was working on the farm nearby, and rushed to them.

"I was told that Andrea was gone and I was kind of grieving that, and then I was told I needed to get to the hospital because Claire was more serious than we first anticipated," he said.

Four-year-old Claire suffered five broken ribs, had a collapsed lung and a neck injury which required a brace for weeks. She's now healed, but the loss lingers.

"Claire talks about her mom every day. She puts on her makeup, she puts on her perfume," Matt said. "Mallorie is, she's one, she's young but she knows mom's missing."

And it's how the accident happened that still angers Matt. The driver was on his cell phone, admittedly driving distracted.

"I see it happening every day on the road that Andrea lost her life on," Matt said.

He hopes their loss will prevent another family from feeling the same heartache.

"Andrea always looked for the best out of everything, and that's what she would want is the message to be," he said. "Put away the phones, there's nothing more important than life itself."

He says Andrea picked everything out for their new home, down to the last detail. The home is a few hundred yards from where they live now.

He and the girls are looking forward to moving in February. Matt also said the community continues to be a constant support, for which he will be forever grateful.

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