CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. – Camden County High School students are headed back to class on Tuesday with heavy hearts after a 16-year-old was killed on Saturday in a crash that also seriously injured another 16-year-old.
The school’s Guidance Department confirmed to News4JAX that extra counselors will be available on campus for students who might need them.
The names of the two teenagers have not been released, but a memorial has been placed near the crash site. A tire was filled with flowers, a cross and handwritten messages left by people who stopped to pay their respects.
A cheerleading ribbon in the memorial reads: “Once a Wildcate, always a Wildcat.”
According to Georgia officials, troopers responded to the area of Union Carbide Road and Mary’s Drive in Camden County to investigate a two-vehicle crash with injuries around 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
According to GDPS, a Chevrolet Silverado, driven by an 18-year-old man from St. Marys, was traveling west in the eastbound lane on Union Carbide Road, attempting to pass a Honda Accord, driven by a 16-year-old, who was attempting to turn left from Union Carbide Road west onto Mary’s Drive.
Troopers said the Silverado hit the driver’s side of the Accord, and both vehicles traveled off the south side of the road.
The Silverado flipped and two passengers in the back seat, both 16-year-olds, were thrown from the truck.
One of the 16-year-old passengers was seriously injured, and the other died at Southeast Georgia Health System’s Camden Campus.
On Tuesday, News4JAX visited the crash site and could still see tire tracks cut into the ground off the road.
While News4JAX was at the scene, a neighbor — a 12-year-old — came to clean up around the memorial so the victim’s family would have a clean place to visit.
The soon-to-be 7th grader used a weed whacker to cut the grass around the flowers, moved the clippings aside and left a small Jesus figurine at the memorial before leaving.
No other information about the crash, including if charges are expected, was immediately available.