An 18-year-old high school senior was killed and another teen was injured after a speeding car overturned and crashed into another vehicle in Missouri, authorities said.
The victim was identified as Olivia Bumbac, a senior at Parkway Central High School in Chesterfield, according to local reports.
A Missouri State Highway Patrol traffic report said the crash happened on the evening of Sunday, Feb. 15, on Interstate 64 near Missouri Route 141. Bumbac was riding as a passenger in a car driven by a 17-year-old boy traveling westbound when the vehicle began to slide. The car overturned, struck a concrete median barrier, and crossed into the eastbound lanes, where it collided with another vehicle before leaving the roadway and hitting an embankment.
Bumbac and the driver were taken to a hospital, where she later died. Authorities said no one else was injured. Troopers noted that the driver was traveling too fast at the time of the crash and that Bumbac was not wearing a seat belt.
Parkway Central High School principal Dr. Tim McCarthy informed the school community of Bumbac’s death on Tuesday, Feb. 17, and said another student involved in the crash was hospitalized with injuries.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the Bumbac family as they mourn the loss of their daughter and sister,” McCarthy said. “Another student was in the accident and is currently hospitalized; we are with him in spirit as he recovers.”
Tarun Rana, an attorney for the Bumbac family and a family friend, described Olivia as someone “you could call at midnight and she would come,” according to local reporting. Rana said Bumbac, a former member of the school’s lacrosse team, had completed her high school coursework and planned to take her certified nursing assistant exam in March as a step toward becoming a nurse.
“She had her whole future ahead of her,” Rana said, adding that she wanted to help others through nursing.
In a statement shared on behalf of the family on Wednesday, Feb. 18, Rana said the family was devastated and asked for privacy as they grieve. He added that they hope Olivia will be remembered for her kindness and willingness to help others, and noted that she was an organ donor.
Students at Parkway Central High School held a vigil for Bumbac on Tuesday.
“I think it means the most to her parents to know that she was this loved, that there were so many people’s lives that she touched, because she truly found her way in everybody’s heart,” her friend Aahana Shrestha said.
