EVERY VICTIM

NEEDS A VOICE

Around two thousand people attended the funeral to pay their respects to the passing of 24-year-old Shawn Marti and his 5-month-old daughter Sage.

Not far away, lying in a coma in a hospital bed, lay his 23-year-old wife, Natalie, near-death and struggling to survive.

Their family and friends were split-some wishing Natalie would join her husband and daughter in Heaven, and the others wanting her to live. Either way, the lives of all of them would never be the same.

The Marti Family was silenced in a moment because a man chose to drive while intoxicated.

Meet Shawn Marti.

ATHLETE. SINGER.

BEST FRIEND. SON.

FATHER. HUSBAND.

Shawn was a talented man. He was a singer, actor, dancer, composer, pianist, and artist. He excelled at sports and loved to play basketball and soccer when he wasn't cutting up the lakes waterskiing.

One of Shawn's greatest gifts was making fast friends with those around him. He cared deeply for others and had a way of making them feel comfortable and loved. This deep concern for others was the reason he was majoring in psychology to be a counselor at Boise State University.

He loved Natalie deeply and would often tell her what a gift she was to him, and he loved how she inspired him to be a better man.

One of his greatest achievements was becoming a father. He was an attentive dad and lovingly called his daughter "Sagers". He loved to sing and dance with her. Even though she couldn't talk yet, he would read daily to her from the scriptures.

Sage was buried with him, cradled in his arms.

HEAR A SONG SHAWN WROTE & RECORDED

Her Spirit Lives - Shawn Marti

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DAUGHTER.

NIECE.

GRAND CHILD.

Sage was a beautiful strawberry blond girl born September 18th . In the short 5 months she lived, she captured the hearts of not only her parents, but her entire extended family. She loved to eat, spend time with her cousins, and had just learned to roll over. She loved her Dad and Mom and would kick her legs excitedly when Shawn would come home. Shawn and Sage had a close bond with each other. To help express his love, Shawn wrote a lullaby for Sage that he recorded shortly before his death.

Meet Sage Marti.

Baby Mine - Shawn Marti

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HEAR SHAWN'S LULLABY FOR SAGE

Marti Cazier Natalie Shawn Snow Sledding

WIFE.

MOTHER.

WIDOW.

SURVIVOR.

Meet Natalie Marti.

Since she was a young girl, Natalie has loved to dance. Especially when singing her favorite Tiffany songs. She taught swimming lessons for many years and developed a love for teaching-while getting a tan. Her favorite thing about teaching was seeing those children succeed and grow.

As a teenager, Natalie found a great love for doing hair. It came easy to her, and many friends and family were her "clients" as she practiced coloring and cutting. After earning her associates degree, Natalie decided that she was going to get her cosmetology license so she could do hair fulltime.

A few weeks before she had to leave for school, she met her future husband Shawn Marti. They fell fast in love and Natalie was torn about leaving him for school. After praying about it, she applied to a hair school in Boise and was thrilled when she was accepted.

Soon they were married, happy, and planning to have 8 children. Seven months later, Natalie found out she was pregnant. It wasn't a good time financially for a child, however, Shawn and Natalie were thrilled to meet Sage.

ON A COLD FEBRUARY NIGHT...

Wrecked Car Shawn Sage Natalie Marti DUI Drunk Driver Crash

Emily Natalie Hailey Marti Shawn Natalie Sage Marti Funeral Family

Casket Funeral Shawn Sage Natalie Marti DUI Drunk Driver Crash

On a cold February night, Natalie Marti was with her husband Shawn and her daughter Sage watching her sister-in-law perform in a highschool musical. At around 10:00 pm the Marti family got into their car to head home. They had no idea that their family was about to be torn apart by a drunk driver speeding in a truck down the wrong way on the freeway. At 98 mph the drunk driver collided head on and over the driver's side of the Marti's car. Shawn's seat bealt was ripped and he was ejected from the car to skid down the pavement to his death. Sage, still buckled into her car seat, was killed instantly as the force of the collision caused her brain to smash against her skull. Natalie barely survived the collision with a traumatic brain injury, several broken bones, bruised organs, and multiple lacerations. She fell into a coma while her doctors, doubting her surival, had to tell family and friends to prepare for her death.

Against all odds-she survived. Though it took years, Natalie has thrived. She began speaking about her tragedy to persuade others not to make the same mistake as the man who killed her family. Everytime she speaks, she feels that Shawn and Sage are speaking through her. She has become their voice.