Dad Went to See Days-Old Daughter in the Hospital So She Wouldn't Feel 'Alone.' He Died in Crash on His Way Home (Exclusive)

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Even before she knew about the crash that killed her boyfriend, Amberly Trocke tells PEOPE she "knew in my heart something was wrong"NEED TO KNOW
Three days after his daughter was born, Dennis Lewis was killed in a motorcycle accident on July 18
That day, he'd gone to see his newborn on his own — and at the time of the crash, he was heading back home
"I just want, more than anything, for him to be here," says his grieving partner, Amberly TrockeDennis Lewis, 35, was so eager to see his newborn daughter that he drove to the Illinois hospital hours before the scheduled pickup time on Friday, July 18.
Dennis had last seen his baby girl the previous night, when girlfriend Amberly Trocke was discharged, but he'd come back for the solo visit because he didn't like being separated from Harley — even though she'd be coming home later that same day.
'He wanted her to know we were there and not be alone,' Amberly, a 30-year-old customer service specialist, tells PEOPLE.
As she waited for her boyfriend to return home, Amberly — who had given birth to their little girl three days earlier — was waiting with her older daughter, Davina Jade, in the family's Round Lake Beach home. After he came back, the couple planned to drive back to Highland Park Hospital together to pick up Harley at 4 p.m.
At the hospital, Dennis texted Amberly to say their daughter had woken up at the sound of his voice, mirroring how she used to kick her feet while in utero when he talked. Then, at 1:39 p.m., he called to say he was planning on grabbing food before heading home.
But the new dad never made it.
An hour later, at approximately 2:39 p.m., deputies responded to reports of a collision between a motorcycle and a semi-truck at an intersection in Green Oaks, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
The driver of the motorcycle, later identified as Dennis, was traveling west on Route 176 with a green light ahead as he approached Bradley Road, witnesses told investigators. He went on to collide with a semi-truck turning left and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The semi-truck driver, a 50-year-old man from McHenry, was uninjured and cooperated with investigators.
The Lake County Coroner's Office confirms to PEOPLE that Dennis died from 'blunt force injuries of the head and neck' because of the collision.
An investigation into the circumstances of the crash remain ongoing.
Now, just a couple of weeks postpartum, Amberly is trying to navigate the chasm Dennis's death has left.
'What I love about him is the way he took care of us and protected us,' she says as her voice cracks. 'I just want, more than anything, for him to be here.'
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The Friday of the crash, the new mom grew concerned when time kept passing, but Dennis still hadn't arrived home.
By 4 p.m., the much-anticipated pickup time, a friend, DJ, drove her to the hospital with Davina, whose fourth birthday was in two days, so they could bring Harley home. Along the way, Amberly called hospitals located on the route Dennis would have driven, asking if there was a patient with his name.
'He was not the kind of person you had to worry about,' she says. 'So, I knew in my heart something was wrong.'
On the way back, Amberly was riding in the backseat with Harley and Davina when Dennis' mom called to say they'd been alerted that there an accident, but didn't believe it was true.
When Amberly called the police, she was told officers would meet her at her house in Round Lake Beach, but wouldn't say anything more over the phone. That's when she knew the love of her life was dead.
'I was just screaming, crying, and I called my mom,' she says. 'My [older] daughter is holding her ears, saying her ears hurt, but I couldn't help it because I was just so upset.'
It wasn't until later that Amberly learned Dennis, a transmission mechanic, was planning on proposing once their baby was born.
'It just hurts that we didn't get to finish that part of our life,' she says.
The pair met in 2022, but it wasn't until about a year ago that they became a couple. 'He was made for me,' she says. 'We were made for each other.'
Amberly adds that although Davina wasn't Dennis' biological child, he treated the little girl like his own and planned on adopting her when she was old enough to make that decision for herself.
When he found out that Amberly was pregnant, Dennis was thrilled, says his cousin Stephanie Cornell, who saw him recently at the couple's baby shower in June.
'He was so proud to start his family,' says Stephanie, who loved to attend concerts with her younger cousin. At the party, Dennis gave Stephanie a tour of the house he'd renovated, including the newly painted nursery with tables to match, and Davina's freshly-painted room. 'I've never seen him so happy in my whole life than seeing him going to be a father.'
Her daughter, Brianna Vance, who organized a GoFundMe for Dennis' family, agrees. 'He was so excited to bring Harley home and to raise her in the home that he and Amberly had put so much love into,' says Brianna.
In the wake of his death, Amberly says coping has been incredibly difficult.
She asked her family to help put together a birthday party for Davina, who keeps asking who will play with her now that Dennis can't give her piggyback rides. The 4-year-old girl also told her mom that she had a dream about Dennis.
'She told him that she loved him, and he said I love you back,' says Amberly. 'She just really misses him so much.'
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Meanwhile, the mom has been in and out of the hospital with baby Harley, who is struggling with a potential gastrointestinal issue that doctors have yet been able to identify.
'I'm looking at our kids and it is just really, really, really hard," she says.
Even though a piece of Amberly's heart is missing, she knows Dennis is watching over all of them.
She says, "Our protector is now protecting us from above."
Read the original article on People
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