I am sorry about the women that got killed so far from home. But I also agree with you, that fear should not prevent us to gain experiences and to enjoy life.
I have a huge fear of flying - or rather, of a plane crashing when I'm in. Because, really, once you are in that situation, there's nothing you can really do. But in order to visit my family or to experience new places, I need travel this way. And when I am panicking about the minuscule possibility of my plane crashing, I tell myself, that staying at home would not ensure my survival. We don't know how much time we have here. Some people survive the craziest dangers while others die in relatively safe situations/places.
I can relate a little. When I fly I'm always absolutely fine up until we take off and then I have a moment of "Oh my God, what have I done, I can't get down by myself now!". It's the vulnerability of being totally dependent on the pilots that scares me, I think. But every time we get in a car we're depending on other people to drive safely and not kill us too. There are risks everywhere but if we wanted to be 100% safe, we wouldn't have much of a life...
Thank you for reading :)