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A grieving North Carolina mother is lashing out at Hollywood elites and Grammy Award speeches she says ignored crime victims like her family — weeks after her teenage daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend were killed in an alleged DUI crash caused by an illegal immigrant.
In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, Shannon Swiderski Hamrick, the mother of Skylar Provenza, 19, described waking up overwhelmed by grief just minutes before returning to work.
“Today I woke up feeling it. It’s Monday. I’m supposed to go back to work in six minutes,” Hamrick said. “I’ve prayed, I’ve cried, I’m angry, I’m sad. It’s not fair.”
Hamrick said she tried to stay away from the news and the political debate surrounding the case, insisting her daughter’s death was not about politics but about a deadly and preventable decision.
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“I’ve tried to keep my frustration toward the fact that this was solely due to drinking and driving,” she said. “It could have been anyone.”
But she said watching the Grammy Awards pushed her to break her silence, leaving her overwhelmed as celebrities used their platforms to promote political messages and what she viewed as a culture that excuses reckless behavior.
“I watched the Grammys last night — I shouldn’t have,” Hamrick said. “Some of my favorite artists used their voices to advocate for something they probably haven’t personally been affected by. Instead, they promoted drinking and pretty much promoted being above the law.”
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She accused Hollywood elites of being insulated from the real-world consequences families like hers now live with and questioned whether those speaking out have ever experienced the kind of loss she now carries.
“It’s sickening!” Hamrick said. “Honestly have any one of those wealthy artists that are advocating against ICE been personally affected in any way? Try fighting that anger!”
“I’m sure most of these wealthy people with ‘voices’ had drivers to wherever they were going,” she said. “They weren’t home grieving the loss of their daughter and our future son-in-law.”
Provenza and her boyfriend, Fletcher Harris, 20, a standout college soccer player at Catawba College, were killed just after 11 p.m. on Jan. 16 in Rowan County, North Carolina, when prosecutors say a Chevrolet Silverado driven by Juan Alvarado Aguilar, 37, crossed the center line and slammed head-on into their vehicle.
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Authorities allege Aguilar was driving under the influence at the time of the crash. Investigators said officers noted a strong odor of alcohol and that Aguilar appeared unsteady on his feet when he was arrested. Both Provenza and Harris were pronounced dead at the scene.
Court records reviewed by Fox News Digital show Aguilar had a prior driving-while-impaired charge from 2020 that was dismissed by a district attorney, along with two prior failures to appear. Authorities say Aguilar is an illegal immigrant, and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer has been placed on him. He now faces two counts of felony death by vehicle, driving while impaired and other charges, and is being held on a bond of more than $5 million.
As family and friends gathered to mourn the young couple, Republican lawmakers said the tragedy never should have happened.
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“Fletcher Harris and Skylar Provenza — two bright young lives full of promise — were brutally taken in a head-on crash allegedly caused by an illegal alien with a prior DUI who never should have been on our roads,” Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., previously told Fox News Digital. “Where’s the outrage? If this were any other tragedy, the streets would be filled.”
North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall also blamed what he described as failures in federal immigration enforcement.
“I think it’s a failure of policy,” Hall said, arguing that illegal immigrants accused of serious crimes are too often not taken into custody. He emphasized that lawmakers are fighting to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.
For Hamrick, the focus remains on accountability, faith and decency and on honoring the life her daughter lived.
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“I’m an American citizen living my life right,” she said. “My child got stolen from me, and we don’t even have support from our people — people who could make a difference.”
“Just be decent humans,” Hamrick added. “Make better choices.”
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to [email protected].
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