FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Bayview Elementary School students donated dozens of teddy bears on Wednesday to honor the memory of a boy who died after a small plane crashed into the car he was in nearly two years ago in Broward County.
Megan Bishop said she treasured Chevy, the teddy bear that her four-year-old son Taylor Bishop was carrying with him when the crash happened near North Perry Airport, on March 15, 2021.
“I don’t even know if I will ever be able to put into words what that meant to me because I knew when I received the bear my son had passed, so just having the bear back gave me some sense of comfort because he loved him so much,” Bishop said.
Amid her unbearable grief, Chevy was the inspiration behind an idea to honor Taylor’s memory.
“Sometimes I do believe that God kept me alive because he wanted me to carry out my son’s legacy.”
The children’s donations in his honor made it to the hands of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, so first responders can distribute them to children in need of comfort.
“When you go into a critical incident and you have a teddy bear, that’s your ice breaker,” Sgt. Nicole Graves said. “Trust me, we’re going to put these teddy bears to use.”