Trans woman posts suicide note online shortly before death
Ashley Hallstrom posted the note on Facebook detailing her “lifelong struggle with being transgender”.
The 26 year old, from Utah, posted the note last week, saying she had chosen to end her life rather than live “hating herself”.
“From a very young age, I was told that people like me are freaks and abominations, that we are sick in the head and society hates us. This made me hate who I was,” she wrote.
“I tried so hard to be just like everyone else but this isn’t something you can change.
“I can’t stand to live another day, so I’m committing suicide,” she added.
She then drove to a busy main road, where police say she walked into traffic and was hit by a dump truck on the highway.
Police say they believe that the act was “intentional.”
“According to witnesses and information that we gathered on the scene, it appears that the pedestrian had jumped in front of that northbound vehicle,” Capt. Tyson Budge said in a statement.
“Evidence at the scene gave every indication that the driver had attempted to swerve and brake, to avoid the collision but was unable to do so.”
The police department said it had also received reports of Ms Hallstrom’s suicide note – but sadly were unable to find her before the fatal collision.
Ms Hallstrom said that she wanted her difficult experiences to encourage others to help those around them.
“I don’t want to be just another number of a tragic statistic. People need to know that I’m not just another face of someone they never met. I was alive,” she wrote.
“I believe my last words can help make the change that society needs to make so that one day there will be no others like me,” she added.
“Please help make this change because trans people are everywhere. You may never know who you’re hurting until it’s too late. Please help fix society.”
Several of her friends have started a GoFundMe page to help Ms Hallstrom’s family pay for funeral expenses.
Ms Hallstrom’s death echoes that of trans teen Leelah Alcorn, from Ohio – who scheduled a similar heartbreaking post on Tumblr, before her suicide last year.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article and need to talk to someone, visit samaritans.org or call 08457 90 90 90
