The Prince Rupert RCMP have released the name of the 15 year old girl killed in a car accident on Saturday morning on Rainbow Summit just east of town.
15-year-old Port Edward resident Mary Jessica Faith Hartling lost her life after succumbing to injuries that resulted when the car she was in left the road early Saturday morning. According to RCMP, four youths, two males and two females, travelled to Terrace for an early morning breakfast then returned back to Prince Rupert. The 1993 two-door Mazda car left the road at Rainbow Summit along a straight stretch on Highway 16. The vehicle crashed approximately 40 feet down an embankment until its resting place.
The two females, who were sitting in the backseat of the vehicle, were both ejected. Mary Jessica Faith Hartling was thrown approximately 30 feet from the vehicle and sustained critical injuries. She was airlifted to the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.
The three other teen occupants sustained minor injuries and are from Prince Rupert. The driver was a 17-year-old male, a second 17-year-old male was seated in the front passenger seat and a second 15-year-old female was sitting in the backseat, behind the driver.
The investigation is ongoing and the full mechanical inspection of the vehicle will be completed on Monday, April 18, 2011. The Prince Rupert RCMP also awaits the reconstruction analyst report Alcohol is not considered to be a factor in the accident, and RCMP say evidence points to the driver falling asleep at the wheel.
Cst. Laura Lechky says she spoke to the family this morning and that "they are thankful for all the support that is pouring in from friends, family and the community."
A celebration of life for Mary Jessica Faith Hartling is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at the community centre in Port Edward.
Prince Rupert School District Superintendent Lynn Hauptman says students were able to access a support network that included grief and youth counselors when school resumed on Monday.
"We pulled together our crisis team on Sunday at PRSS, which involved people from both high schools and put a plan in place for today. This morning I talked to both principals and the system is going as well as can be expected," she said.
"The students know there is a celebration of her life scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Port Edward and are working on that...This is very tough on the community as a whole and I think there are a lot of parents holding their children tight after this weekend."