JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 20-year-old University of North Florida student was killed in a head-on crash Sunday on Jacksonville's Westside.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said 23-year-old Keith Jackson was headed north on Roosevelt Boulevard when he turned left into the path of Laura Erdelyi.
Jacksonville Fire Rescue said Erdelyi died on the scene. Jackson was taken to UF Health Jacksonville. Police said neither drugs nor alcohol appear to have been factors in the crash.
Erdelyi's family released a statement Sunday night, saying, "We are deeply saddened and shocked about our daughter Laura's tragic death this morning. We have significant support and love from our family and friends. We know Laura is safe with God."
Erdelyi's friends said it's difficult to fathom that she's gone. Her friend, Blake Riley, invited a News4Jax crew to Memorial Park in Riverside, one of Erdelyi's favorite places, to talk about an outgoing young woman who will be deeply missed.
"Everyone called her, 'My really excited friend Laura,' because anyone she met, she was so energetic and so happy to meet them," Riley said. “It's been really hard, because, of course, she's the one I want to call, and she's the person that would know what to say, even though I'd be speechless.”
Riley said her mother broke the news to her of Erdelyi's death. She said she's never cried so quickly.
"I mostly just miss her. I just know I'm not going to see her again, and I miss her,” Riley said.
Arthur Ekrem, who is close friends with Erdelyi's parents and has known Erdelyi since she was 11 years old, said that it took a while to come to terms with her death.
“There is that pit that hits you in the stomach, and you almost can't breathe for a moment. The reality had to set in,” Ekrem said. "The only way to survive something this traumatic is to wake up every day and do the best you can. Mike, her father, said to me last night when I was leaving, he said, 'I don't want to go to sleep tonight.' I said, 'Why is that?' He said, 'I don't want to wake up in the morning and find out this is real.'"
Erdelyi had an old soul and classic taste. Pictures of Audrey Hepburn and Frank Sinatra decorated her walls and she had a record player with vinyl ready to be played.
“If I could define love, I would tell someone to look at Laura,” Ekrem said.
Erdelyi volunteered at the Yates YMCA, and the organization's group exercise coordinator released a statement Monday about her death.
“We were saddened to learn about the passing of Laura Erdelyi, a beloved fitness instructor and member of the Yates YMCA family,” Mike Inciso wrote. “Her outgoing personality and contagious smile inspired those around her. She's one of a kind and will truly be missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family during this difficult time."
Erdelyi's family is still working to make funeral arrangements.