17-year-old girl killed in crash on prom night; 3 others injured
A 17-year-old girl is dead following a prom night crash in Ohio.
Four teenagers from Monroe High School were involved in a single-car crash on their way to dinner in Mason before their prom Friday night, police said.
Kaylie Jackson, 17, was pronounced dead Monday, days after the crash. The three others involved have since been released from the hospital.
The teens were riding in a 2013 Tesla sedan when the driver veered off the right side the road, over corrected and traveled into the westbound lane. She then went into a ditch, slammed into a fence and sideswiped a pole.
Police say the driver was operating a vehicle in a negligent manner. The driver has not been named because she is underage.
Jackson's friend Tara Morris said she had just been taking pictures with Jackson before the crash.
"Me and her took a picture and then she said, 'I gotta go. We are running late for dinner,' and she ran out," Morris said.
Jackson was friends with Mitchell Foster Jr., who was in the car with her when the crash happened.
Foster's family talked Monday about his fight to recover, saying he was devastated by the loss of his friend.
"It was the most heartbreaking thing I have ever had to experience. It really was, it was so sad for him to just weep and just say 'it's not fair,' it was so, so, so heartbreaking," his sister Courtnie Foster said.
Mitchell's sisters said he and Jackson both planned to go to Ohio State University to pursue pre-med degrees.
"When she walked in a room, you knew she was there, because she just emits that type of positivity about her, like, she was just so helpful in any way she could," Foster said.
When Jackson died, she left behind the gift of life.
"All of her close friends knew she wanted to be an organ donor because she wanted to save as many lives as she could. Whether it was saving them herself or being able to give a part of herself to save them," Morris said.
Morris said she wishes she could talk to her one last time.
"It makes you cherish life because teenagers seem to think that something bad will never happen to them. It is an eye-opener. I think Kaylie will be in our hearts for the rest of our lives," Morris said.
