It was a woman's last text that killed her

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Mathieu Fortin created a Facebook page and posted this photo of himself with his girlfriend Emy Brochu, who died Jan. 18 when her car slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer truck as it merged with traffic near Victoriaville, Que. The Facebook page, a series of heartwrenching text messages is being used by Fortin to warn people to pay attention when driving. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ho-Mathieu Fortin/Facebook

A series of heartwrenching text messages is being used by the boyfriend of a car accident victim to warn people to pay attention when driving.

Mathieu Fortin has created a Facebook page to get the word out in memory of Emy Brochu, who died Jan. 18 when her car slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer truck as it merged with traffic near Victoriaville, Que.

Brochu had sent Fortin a couple of loving messages before her last one, which was a series of XXXXs, indicating kisses.

The next set of messages, which Fortin posted on Facebook, have him telling her that he wants to "hear her beautiful voice" but then growing fearful after he hasn't heard from her in a few hours.

"Is everything going well, my love?" Fortin wrote. "I'm a bit worried."

Provincial police did not immediately attribute a cause to the accident, although they said they were looking into the possibility of a distraction, such as a cellphone.

"The police investigation showed the use of a cellphone while driving was the cause of the accident," Fortin wrote on Facebook. "This conclusion came as a shock because during the tragedy, I was in a discussion with her."

Fortin says that reading the last messages shatters his heart into a million pieces.

He urges people to learn from his story.

"An accident can happen quickly," he writes. "I hope every time you look at your cellphone while you're driving, you think of Emy and those who loved her.

"At what time is a text or an email more important than life itself? At what point is something on your phone more important than the people that you love?"

Fortin describes Brochu as a joyful, determined woman who had a wonderful future ahead of her.

He urges his friends to pass his message onto others, warning them to consider that they might run over a child crossing the road if they're not looking out.

Fortin's message received a slew of responses from friends expressing their sympathy and promising to pass it on.