UPDATE @ 8:47 a.m. (Dec. 12):
A GoFundMe account set up in memory of Gabrielle Ellis, a Morton Middle School student killed in a crash in Miami County Sunday, has raised more than $10,000 for the family.
According to the page, the money raised will go to assist the family and “help take the financial burden of this tragedy off their shoulders.”
INITIAL REPORT:
Gabrielle Ellis, a student at Morton Middle School, was killed along with her grandmother, Lois Ellis of Vandalia, in a two-car head-on crash this morning on Nashville Road in Miami County Sunday morning.
According to the district, administrators will meet with staff before the start of school, and staff will meet with student groups at the start of the school day. Also, after-school sports activities have been canceled for Monday at the middle school.
“This is a very difficult time for the entire Vandalia-Butler community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends at this very difficult time,” said Superintendent Brad Neaven in a release. “This is a tight-knit community and will experience this loss as any family would. We will be providing support to our students and our staff as we deal with this loss.”
The pair was traveling together on their way to a wrestling meet in Piqua. They were following Lois’ son, Gabrielle’s father, who witnessed the crash in his rear view mirror, according to the sheriff’s office.
The crash was weather related. Investigators said Lois Ellis was coming out of a curve and lost control on ice around 11 a.m. Her vehicle was hit by a southbound minivan driven by Katharine Mader, 37, of Troy, according to the sheriff’s office.
Mader was injured but the injuries were not considered serious.
The crash remains under investigation.
“We’re dealing with a family that just had a horrific loss,” said Miami County Sheriff Major Steve Lord. “We’re going to do an investigation … We’ll try to explain what happened, but the family is having … probably the worst day they’ll ever have in their lives. Our thoughts and our prayers are with them.”
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