A teenage mother was killed in a tragic accident that also left her boyfriend in critical condition after leaving high school to pick up her four-month-old daughter from daycare.
Abbigail “Grace” Callaham, 17, and her boyfriend, Thomas Kennedy, were heading to daycare after an early dismissal from Belton-Honea Path Middle School in South Carolina shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday when a “large bird, possibly a turkey” flew out of the woods and crashed into their windshield, the Anderson County coroner reports.
The impact caused Kennedy to lose control of the vehicle and “it veered off to the right side of the roadway, where it overcorrected, crossed the center line and struck a tree on the left side of the roadway,” Coroner Greg Shore said in a news release.
Abbigail Callaham, 17, (right), died in a tragic accident on Tuesday that also left her boyfriend, Thomas Kennedy (left), in critical condition.
The Anderson County coroner says the couple was on their way to pick up their 4-month-old daughter from daycare when a “large bird, possibly a turkey” flew out of the woods and crashed into the windshield, forcing Kennedy to lose control.
Callaham was not wearing a seatbelt at the time and was pinned in her seat by the tree. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident due to multiple traumatic injuries.
Meanwhile, Kennedy was taken to a hospital in critical condition. according to Fox Carolina.
But he was reportedly able to speak to rescuers when they arrived at the scene. WYFF 4 Reports.
Kennedy was reportedly able to speak to first responders at the scene.
“It’s a tragedy,” Shore told the local news station. “We’re all heartbroken by the circumstances.”
He too told WSPA Callaham’s father was “heartbroken” by the news, noting that his 12-year-old sister “was also at the scene.”
“It breaks our hearts to see them suffering like this,” the coroner said.
The coroner said Kennedy overcorrected and crashed into a tree that crushed Callaham in his seat.
Anderson School District Two, which includes Belton-Honea Path High School, said it will now have grief counselors available for all students and staff.
“Please keep Grace’s family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this difficult time,” the school district said. he wrote on Facebook.
He went on to say that he will be organizing an event to “raise prayers for these two students and their families.”
“We talk a lot in Anderson District Two about how we’re a family, so it’s times like this where we can come together, remind each other that this is a support system, love each other and be there for each other,” Superintendent Jason Johns told Fox Carolina.