Grief counselors spent the day at Lee County High School following the death of a popular student. We're told Madison Stokes, a junior at Lee County High, was on her way home last night when she pulled into the path of that tractor trailer rig on the busy Highway 82.
16-year-old Madison Stokes is remembered as an all around good girl. "Everything you would want a young person to be, and to be about, she exemplified those things," said Principal Kevin Dowling.
She was a skilled soccer player, a model student, and dedicated to her church. She died last night when she pulled off Story Lane and onto Highway 82 into the path of a tractor trailer rig.
"I didn't believe it i had to go look at my roster.and say it really is Madison, that they are talking about the Madison I know," said Soccer Coach Dave Baltenberger.
It's hit students and teachers at Lee County high school hard. "We got all of the soccer players together so we could talk about it and bond as a group, because they've all known her for so long," said Dowling.
Today, grief counselors on hand to help students and teachers cope with the news. "Today there were a lot of classes focused on what they normally do. But there were also a lot of classes with student focused on many hard issues to deal with, and that's okay," said Dowling.
But losing a student in a car crash is something folks at Lee County High School have to deal with too often. "I cant believe this; it's happened again and its one of our babies, it's one of our own," said Dowling.
Last year 17-year-old Heather Aycock was killed in a crash on Hwy 82 neat the spot where Madison died. "You are going from 65 to 55 to a few stoplights. you got a few intersections with people coming out and a lot of trucks coming down those roads," said Dowling.
Even though Madison was quiet, her actions spoke louder than words, and she touched many people's lives.
The coach says the soccer team is already planning a memorial for their friend and teammate. No charges are filed in Madison's death.
In a tragic coincidence, the truck that hit her is owned by American Protein, the same company whose truck hit three bicyclists on Highway 82 in Terrell County last month and one of the bicyclists died.
Troopers haven't yet determined if that driver will be charged.
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(Source: Facebook)
Madison was #16 in the team photo
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