Alter High School grieves death of student hit by truck New Year’s Day

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Alter High School is mourning the death of a 15-year-old sophomore killed on New Year’s Day in a pedestrian-vehicle accident in Washington Twp.

The life of Taehee Kim of Washington Twp. was celebrated Wednesday during a Mass at the Kettering parochial school and several associated with Alter plan to be at funeral services Friday, Principal Lourdes Lambert told the Dayton Daily News.

Kim’s death, which involved a Centerville driver, has been ruled an accident and no charges are expected to be filed in the wreck on East Social Row Road near the victim’s home, officials said.

“This is certainly a devastating loss for all of us,” Lambert said in an email about the student’s passing. “Many students and faculty members will be in attendance at her visitation and funeral services on Friday. "

Lambert said a prayer service was held for the teen’s classmates Tuesday, a day after the school resumed fully in-person instruction.

She said Alter has had grief counselors on hand in the aftermath of Kim’s death, which happened just outside her home, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

The wreck involving a pick-up truck occurred about 2:30 p.m. Jan. 1 and was the first pedestrian fatality the sheriff’s office responded to this year, said Christine Ton, its media director.

The teen “was standing near the mailbox of (her home) and then began to cross the roadway to travel north and in doing so failed to yield the right of way,” a report from the sheriff’s office states.

The investigation is ongoing, but “no charges are expected,” Ton said.

The eastbound truck driven by Jeremiah Miller, 40, of Centerville hit the victim and she landed in a ditch on the north side of the road, authorities said.

Kim was taken by Washington Twp. EMS crews to Miami Valley, where she died from blunt force injuries and her death has been ruled an accident, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.

The Dodge Ram truck driven by Miller was estimated at 45 miles per hour in the 55-mph zone and had three passengers, the sheriff’s office report states. All four were treated at the scene.

Visitation for Kim will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Tobias Funeral Home, 648 Watervliet Ave, Dayton. The funeral is set to follow at noon.