WEST JORDAN, Utah — Imagine packing up your belongings for a big move, only to get a text message that your prized possessions had been found on the side of the road after the moving truck was involved in a crash hundreds of miles away from anywhere.
That's what happened to a West Jordan family of six who were set for a new adventure.
“More surreal, did this really actually happen?” still asks Kurt Simpson.
Simpson and his family had recently decided to sell their house, packing up the last 20 years of their lives and shipping them off to their new home in Florida to enjoy fishing and all the other activities the Sunshine State provides.
“The size of the trailer was 28 feet, and obviously we were able to pack up to 26 of that feet," Simpson shared. "It was packed, was packed from top to bottom.”
A few days later, Simpson received the shocking text about the family's belongings.
“The worst part about all of this is one how I found out about it, found out by getting a text message, which everything is a scam, and so initially I thought it was a scam," Simpson explained.
The text read, "I found a bag on Interstate 80 [in Nebraska] and it has your name on it."
It was from the Nebraska Department of Transportation, which was on the scene of the accident and texted Kurt after finding his suitcase
The Simpsons then went to work, doing their own research to find out what had happened to the moving truck they hired.
“A manager or a supervisor called us, and they 100% confirmed it was in an accident, and they didn’t tell us any other information other than it was in an accident; they didn’t tell us how severe it was,” Simpson said.
Simpson was told that the driver was OK following the crash. But when he and his wife had trouble getting additional information, they went to Nebraska to find their things.
“They drove down there and they talked to highway patrol, just getting any information that they could,” said Kurt's son, Dominic.
What Kurt and his wife found in the aftermath were furniture, books, clothes, utensils, and all their kitchen supplies.
"Everything that you would typically have in a house,” Kurt added.
The family is working with a salvage company to see what can be saved, but they’re not sure how long their belongings were outside in the elements.
“It's literally like a tornado just took all of our belongings and just ripped it all up dumped it right all… in one location,” said Kurt.
“The amount of support we’ve received is just phenomenal," Dominic shared. "I mean, from the support from my football friends, my community has just really come together to help us out.”
Friends of the family started a GoFundMe to raise money to help them get the Simpsons back on their feet.
“It’s emotionally impacting," Dominic said, "knowing that people are there for us and they do care about us.”
FOX 13 News reached out to the Estes SureMove company about the accident, but has yet to receive a response.
