Teen dies in wreck in front of Pearl Sample Elementary
Photo by Greg VanNostrand
Classmates, teammates teachers and coaches are mourning the death of a Culpeper County High School senior after a car crash Thursday evening on U.S. 15 in front of Pearl Sample Elementary.
Virginia State Police spokesman Sgt. Les Tyler said Alana Michelle Hester, 17, of Amissville, died at the scene of the two-vehicle collision, which happened around 5:30 p.m. News of the accident spread quickly among the school community.
CCHS girls soccer coach Erick Kalenga coached Hester and knew her for about three years. His voice filled with emotion, he recalled one of his team captains.
“She was definitely a unique person with a unique personality, a very hardworking player,” Kalenga said. “When she was on the field, she worked as hard as she could.”
Kalenga added that Hester most recently played defense and said her teammates also appreciated her unique quirks.
“The girls would tell me that when they would eat lunch before the game, and they would go to Subway, she would just order the bread,” Kalenga recalled. “We were making plans for this coming year, and she was excited and looking forward to it, and she wanted to make her last year a positive year.
“It’s a great loss. We’re certainly praying for her family.”
CCHS senior Kelly Dubell said she’s known Hester since about sixth grade.
“She’s always been a close friend of mine,” Dubell said. “This is the year that we’ve gotten really close — we were so excited about our senior year … we pretty much did everything together. She was all around an amazing person. I never saw her upset once; she’d just make anyone’s day better.”
“One of my friends texted me and told me about it,” said CCHS junior John Kearney, who was in math class with Hester.
Eastern View High School Athletic Director Mark Settle told the Star-Exponent Thursday night that EVHS and CCHS administrators decided to postpone tonight’s season-opening football game between the Blue Devils and Cyclones.
The game will now be played Saturday at 7 p.m. at EVHS.
The FunFest that had been planned before tonight’s game has also been postponed; it will take place next Friday before Eastern View’s home game against Louisa.
Tyler said Hester was driving a 2006 Toyota Corolla sedan when she pulled out of Pearl Sample’s driveway into the path of a southbound 2002 Ford F-650 tree service truck. The truck, towing a large wood chipper, broadsided the car, causing the trailer to jackknife. The truck was owned by Kenny Jenkins Tree Service and Landscaping.
Tyler said the truck’s driver, William N. Hoyt, 41 of Culpeper and an unidentified male passenger were not injured and that the investigation so far indicates Hoyt was not at fault.
No one was in Hester’s car.
Jenkins, who came to the scene following the accident, and other witnesses said it appeared the young woman followed another car out of the school’s driveway and either didn’t see the truck or misjudged the distance of the oncoming vehicle.
Tyler said everyone involved was wearing a seat belt. The accident closed the two-lane section of the highway in both directions for about three hours while authorities investigated and cleared the scene.
Trooper S.J. Riddle is in charge of the investigation.
The Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office, Culpeper Police Department, Co. 11 and Culpeper Volunteer Fire Department Co. 1 responded to the accident.
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Reader Reactions
First of all, I would like to thank everyone who has expressed their heart-felt condolences regarding my cousin’s death on behalf of my entire family, including my aunt and uncle. Secondly, can you all just please let it go? Enough with the fighting. My cousin is dead…no matter what or how it happened. (Still cry daily because I won’t ever see her again on this earth.) To all of those who have gotten on here and commented anything about her being on a cell phone, or running the stop sign, or any other reasons you think may have lead to this crash, unless you are the one working the accident/scene, please stop posting comments. We know for a fact that Alana was not on her cell phone at the time of the accident, so please stop with those comments especially. Please consider what you post on here as it is all read-comment by comment-by her parents and brother, as well as other immediate family. I honestly am appalled at what some of you have the nerve to get on here and post. Please, please try to be more careful. I wish CSE would take this article down…enough strife was caused by the accident itself along with my cousin dying, and this is just another thing on top of everything else. Can we please just let my cousin rest? I understand where some of you are coming from saying that we should try to find out what happened so we can try to prevent it happening again and having another family have to go through what we’ve had to go through. I honestly do understand that, and I agree totally. But this really isn’t the best place to be discussing these things, don’t you think? Start a blog about it, or start a petition about it if you think something needs to be changed. Otherwise, please, for the sake of Alana and her family that is left here, please stop disrespecting my cousin and just let it be.
The right side as you exit from the schools is mitigated by the turn lane ending and having a second lane on the road. If you don’t feel you have to be in the far right lane the traffic crossing is very easy and the dip isn’t a factor at all, yes it would be great for it to be on a flat road but to be honest, after riding bicycles in the area for years I can honestly say that flat is difficult to achieve anywhere here. The problem in the case is that none of that appears to be a factor at all. Flattening the dip isn’t going to solve this issue, nor will a light. If you’re driving a car, due care and thoughtful consideration is the key.
I am really looking for the root cause here, truck going to fast, driver mistake, etc. The last thing we need is a repeat on this accident.
I was by the accident scene yesterday. I assume the truck was coming from the town of Culpeper. There is a large “school” sign painted on the road (rt. 15 heading toward Orange) and a 45 mph speed limit sign.
Someone mentioned earlier that there is a policeman in the intersection directing traffic when school is opening and letting out. But there was a lot of people there when I was there about 6 pm. Some were parked right at the schools and some were there for sports practices. So there are regularly a large number of cars entering and exiting onto rt. 15 at other times not related to the opening and closing of school.
Upon exiting onto rt. 15, I couldn’t help but notice that while the view to the left (where the truck came from) had a long sight line, the view to the right was much shorter due to a dip in the road. I couldn’t help but recall that the 3 deaths in front of Madison HS (rt. 29)were probably closely associated with a dip in the road that obscured oncoming traffic. That dip was fixed some years ago, about the same time they added the stoplight.
Upon leaving PS, I noticed that I paid particular attention on that right side lane(heading toward Culp. lane). You sort of have to look beyond the dip…wait a few seconds to see if someone is coming, then look left, then look right quickly again. I could see a driver becoming focused on that dip (and the wait) and how to deal with it, and become distracted by the traffic coming from the left.
That dip is not good. An exit from 2 schools onto a fast moving highway should never have been built with a dip so close.
rogersk, you are right on that. I’ve been watching the comments, and am heartened to see the love this community has, and yet on the other side, I am shocked at not only some of the comments but that this is being used as a forum for bitterness and ignorance. CSE, please take down the picture and this forum, let the family and friends of this child mourn in peace and remember the lovely young lady they have lost in their families. Pray for them and her in the time ahead that they may find peace and guidance. Don’t forget the other driver either. No matter who was at fault this is something that will follow him the rest of his days. Accidents happen, they’re a part of life and they are sometimes devestating as in this accident. Frankly, some of the comments here absolutely disgust me, and it is my prayer that first of all her family is receiving peace from God and family and friends. Finally, I hope none of you ever have to face the grief and saddness of losing a child or a loved one in the prime of their lives. How dare any of you make assumptions as to what took place. Let the professionals work this out and let the family live and grieve and heal in peace. God’s blessings be with you all.
With no comments since yesterday it is my sincere hope that CSE will take this forum down…this family has endured enough.
fedupinculpeper…Just stop for a minute and think of how your comments appear to others, especially this young woman’s family. Talk with your friends and family and make your remarks to them but NOT in this forum. Have some feelings for others, I just don’t believe you.
Maybe you should take some of your own advice and learn to read yourself. I said, “You assume she had to be on a cell phone,“ I did not say you said she was on a cell phone. Your comments are still uncalled for and very insensitive. How do you know this young girl blew through a stop sign? I think that is outrageous to state unless you were a witness and were actually there and even then none of that matters at this point. I will no longer take in this b/c there are issues here bigger and more important than this and that is the families that are left to grieve. May you all find some peace and comfort in knowing that God has another beautiful angel to watch over us.
Bsmith.. please learn to read. I have NEVER said she was on a cell phone. I have said she didn’t obey the law. Plain and simple. Yes, it is extremely said, and a lot of people are grieving over a life cut short. READ everything, not just the bits and pieces you want. You too may just learn something.
Fedupinculpeper- I think your comments are a little uncalled for. Unless you are an investigator and were at the scence it’s not fair for you to judge what happened. She could have simply misjudge or miscalculated having enough time to pull out. You assume she had to be on a cell phone or “blew through a stop sign.“ Just be respectful with post as you would want your family to be respected if the shoe was on the other foot. Two families are left with a lot of grief. I pray for this beautiful young girls family and friends as well as the driver of the truck b/c I cannot imagine what he is going through as well.
I feel the need to remark again…I really think the ideas presented by some of you are so insensitive as to be cruel. Posting pictures and suggesting anything redeeming about this tragedy is really beyond the scope of sympathy and compassion..At the risk of bringing other events into this I must tell of my experience. My son, at the age of 15 was involved in an automobile accident as a passenger. He survived, thank, God, but I could not look at the car, which was a total loss. The driver was also a teenager and survived. I considered all of us very lucky and protected. I would not have wanted to see pictures of that car spread all over the HS nor would I have wanted my children to see them…Just recently my granddaughter hit a patch of ice while driving on Afton Mountain. Her car turned over several times and she walked away because of airbags and seatbelts. The pictures of her car, which was also a total loss, made me sick (literally) when I saw them…So until you have walked (or nearly walked)in someone else’s shoes don’t be so ready to offer judgments and suggestions. My deepest sympathies to this family. It could well have been me in your position.
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