Mom surprises daughter with drive-by 18th birthday celebration

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Drive-by, drive-in and drive-thru celebrations have become a popular way to celebrate in the age of coronavirus.

Melynda Bell surprised her daughter, Emilie Monteith, with a drive-by celebration for her 18th birthday.

Emilie has intractable epilepsy, so her mom wanted to make sure her milestone birthday was extra special.

Along with family members and close friends, members of the Port City Mopar Club came out to celebrate Emilie’s birthday.

Bell says she is grateful people came to celebrate and make her daughter feel special.

“It really means a lot that people that we didn’t even know came and showed her some love and she’s important,” Bell said.

As for Emilie, she says she is thankful.

“I love my family and I’m glad that they did all this for me,” she said.

After her mom told her she would be receiving presents later in the week, Emilie said the celebration was the best present she could have gotten.