A young mother was killed in a tragic accident precipitated by a large wild bird.
Abbigail “Grace” Callaham, a 17-year-old student at South Carolina’s Belton-Honea Path High School, died Tuesday at the scene of an accident in Anderson County.
Callaham and her boyfriend, fellow BHP student Thomas Kennedy, were on their way to pick up the couple’s 4-month-old child.
According to WYFF-TV, Anderson County coroner Greg Shore said a witness driving behind the couple saw the moment Kennedy lost control of the truck.
Shore said a witness saw Kennedy’s truck round a curve around 11 a.m. before striking a large bird that emerged from the woods at the roadside.
The bird, believed to be a turkey, slammed into the windshield of the truck and caused Kennedy to lose control.
The witness reported the truck swerved to the right shoulder, then after an apparent overcorrection, shot off the left side of the road and collided with a tree.
Callaham was not wearing a seat belt.
Shore said she was pinned in the crashed vehicle and died at the scene. Her cause of death was determined to be from the multiple traumatic injuries received in the crash.
USA- A teen mom was killed in a tragic freak accident that also left her boyfriend in critical condition after they left their high school to pick up their four-month-old daughter from daycare.
Abbigail ‘Grace’ Callaham, 17, her boyfriend, Thomas Kennedy, were on their way to pic.twitter.com/GSjTqV81en
— MassiVeMaC (@SchengenStory) September 26, 2024
Shore said Callaham’s father was left “grief-stricken” by the accident.
“Abbigail’s 12-year-old sister was also on the scene,” Shore said, according to a report by The State. “It just breaks our heart to see them suffering like that. It’s just a tragedy.”
Kennedy survived, but was left in critical condition. He was able to communicate with first responders, who transported him to AnMed Health Medical Center.
“It is with great sadness that we inform our ASD2 family of the death of 11th grade student Abbigail ‘Grace’ Callaham,” Anderson School District Two wrote on its Facebook page. “Grace was involved in a vehicle accident this morning after leaving BHP.”
The district put extra counselors at BHP to support staff and students, and asked the community to keep Kennedy and his family in its prayers.
A prayer vigil was announced for the school’s annual “See You at the Pole” event the day after the accident.
“We talk a whole bunch at Anderson District Two that we are a family, so it’s times like this that we can come together, we can remind each other that this is a support system, love on each other, and just be there for each other,” district superintendent Jason Johns told WHNS-TV.
Students and staff gathered to pray for the families of Kennedy and Callaham at the school’s flagpole Wednesday morning.
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