 |
| Golson (Hoover Police Department) |
A Hoover High School freshman was killed, and two others injured, on the way to school Thursday.
Dallas Virginia Golson, 14, was pronounced dead shortly after her arrival at Children's of Alabama hospital.
Her mother, Barbara Wood, said the accident is devastating.
"She was a precious, sweet girl that was loved by everybody who knew her," Wood said. "It's so sad to see such a promising life cut short."
Wood said Thursday started out just like any other day. Dallas left their Lake Crest home to walk down the street to catch the school bus. Instead of riding the bus, however, she accepted a ride from a 16-year-old friend who is a junior.
The girls, along with a 15-year-old passenger, were making a left turn from South Shades Crest Road onto Brocks Gap Parkway about 8 a.m., when they turned in front of an oncoming dump truck, authorities said.
The truck struck the 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier on the passenger's side, where Dallas was sitting in the back seat.
The other two teens were also taken to Children's with non-life-threatening injuries, said Hoover police spokesman Capt. Jim Coker. The other passenger was undergoing surgery Thursday afternoon.
The 65-year-old truck driver wasn't injured.
Wood said Dallas liked to be with friends and had a passion for the outdoors. She was in the choir for three years at Simmons Middle School and attended Shades Crest Baptist Church.
She was close to her younger sister, a seventh-grader at Simmons.
"She was a beautiful girl, inside and out. She was much loved by her family," Wood said. "It's one of those things we don't understand, but have to trust there is a greater plan."
School officials told students about the accident mid-morning.
Hoover City Schools spokesman Jason Gaston said the system's Hoover Emotional Assistance Response Team immediately went to the campus.
HEART is a district-level group of counselors, teachers and administrators who help students needing emotional support during a time like this, he said.
"We are saddened to hear of the loss of one of our students this morning," Gaston said. "It's a tragedy for the entire Hoover community. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family."
Coker said the department's Crash Reconstruction Team will investigate all aspects of the circumstances that led to the collision. Dallas was wearing her seatbelt, authorities said, and there was no early indication that cell phone use had anything to do with the accident.
Coker said the requirements of the Alabama's Graduated Driver's License law will be considered in the investigation.
Under the 2010 law, it is illegal for a 16-year-old driver (and 17-year-old drivers who have been licensed less than six months) to drive with more than one non-family member passenger.
"This crash will have profound effects on not only all of those involved, but their families as well," Coker said. "It is our duty to fully investigate the crash, in order to find answers."
No comments:
Post a Comment