'Love story' of young crash victim finally ends

OREM — Some may call her story tragic.

But those who knew Tori Schmanski best know it's really a love story.

It's the story of a girl who loved to dance, a community that reached out to support a struggling family, and parents who went to the ends of the earth to make their daughter's life easier.

"I know that Tori knew she was so loved," said Sheryl Dowling, owner of The Dance Club, where Tori spent countless hours. "Watching her parents fight for her and take care of her, they have been such an inspiration to everyone."

Tori gained the love and prayers of an entire community after a car accident on Father's Day 2005 trapped her underwater in an upside-down car.

Those 15 minutes changed her from a vibrant, active 14-year-old into a young woman paralyzed by a traumatic brain injury.

She defied doctors by surviving but would never dance, walk or talk again.

Yet that didn't stop her from fighting — until Saturday.

"She was a hero," said her father, Tim Schmanski. "Her strength and determination to just live, it truly was something to behold."

Tori, 19, died Saturday in her Orem home as the result of a virus that attacked her lungs, which she was unable to clear.

"We're devastated, but at the same time, we're so happy for Tori that's she's free," Dowling said. "It's just really joyful but so difficult for all of us left here."

It was the second time in a month Tori had battled a virus. The first time, her parents took her to Primary Children's Medical Center, where she stayed for six days trying to get her breathing regulated, Schmanski said.

She came home healthy, but the second infection, not H1N1, set in a few days later, and she couldn't fight it off.

"I think she was ready to let go," Schmanski said. "It just didn't seem like she was fighting as much as she did in the past."

The trip to Primary Children's was hard on Tori, Schmanski said. It was the first time she'd been back since her initial visit.

Since that summer, she'd been in a battle that had spanned the globe.