OU student from North Texas killed in car crash, remembered as ‘cherished friend’ by many

Nicole Lopez
·2 min read
4

A University of Oklahoma student from North Texas who was killed in a car accident is being remembered as a cherished friend and light to the world.

Trinity Kitchens, 23, died Saturday from injuries she sustained in a crash in Oklahoma City, according to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.

Kitchens, who was from Haslet, graduated from V.R. Eaton High School in Fort Worth in 2019, and went on to attend Abilene Christian University, where she competed in track and field. She then transferred to OU.

She was preparing to graduate from OU in May.

Many of Kitchens’ friends took to Facebook to grieve and show their love for her.

“Simply devastated at the loss of a cherished childhood friend and an undeniable light in the world,” Skyler Phelps wrote in a Facebook post. “When I walk that stage in Norman this year, it will be dedicated to her.”

“Trinity Kitchens was a light to everyone around her and always saw the good in people. My heart breaks knowing that I won’t be able to hear her sweet voice again,” Kaylee Rampee-Hall said in a Facebook post.

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At around 2:20 a.m. Saturday, Kitchens was driving a 2011 Jeep Wrangler on southbound Interstate 44 at Northwest 39th Street when, for an unknown reason, she departed the roadway to the right and got back on the road, according to a report by the DPS. The vehicle then departed the roadway again to the left and hit a concrete barrier wall.

The Jeep hit the bottom of the bridge and rolled over, coming to rest on its tires, the DPS investigation found. Kitchens was ejected from the vehicle.

A 23-year-old male passenger who was in the vehicle with Kitchens was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated and released.

The DPS found that Kitchens did not have her seatbelt on, but the passenger did, according to the report.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.