Vashon Island school mourns death of 15-year-old freshman
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VASHON ISLAND - It seemed almost too much for such a small community to bear.
Ashley Fix, a freshman at Vashon Island High School, died Friday in a car crash.
It was the third student death at the school since the start of the academic year and the fifth death in three years.
"This has been a really hard year," said Principal Susan Hanson.
The crash happened about 12:40 p.m. at Southwest 214th Street and Monument Road Southwest on Vashon Island.
The 2000 Hyundai was heading south on Monument when the driver apparently lost control and the car flipped several times, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.
Fix, 15, was sitting in the middle of the back seat and thrown from the car. She died of head injuries. The four other occupants in the car, including the driver, suffered minor injuries.
All day yesterday, the high-school teachers, counselors and administrators manned a table in the lunchroom, providing counseling, solace and support for the approximately 500 students and 44 faculty members.
"This is a huge loss for this community," Hanson said. "It's magnified by the fact that we are so small and everyone's aware of everyone else. Even if you weren't in someone's personal circle of friends, you're aware of them, of their gifts."
Fix was in a freshman class of 135, most of whom went to McMurray Middle School together on the island.
She was a talented singer, actress and artist, according to friends and faculty members. Her singing was accorded one of the top school honors when she performed the national anthem at a few basketball games this year.
She took beginning jewelry design, drama and art, making friends laugh with her comedic dialogues and pencil sketches.
On the Wednesday before she died, Fix decided she would try to get as many hugs as possible from people, said friend Suzanne Walters, 17, a junior. Walters, who joined in the game, got 20 hugs. Fix got 104.
"Everybody loved her," Walters said.
At the school, flowers and notes scribbled with magic markers on white butcher paper attested to that:
"Ashley, we miss you and we're so sorry."
"Beautiful, sweet, dear Ashley, I love you."
An impromptu memorial was set up on the side of the road by the accident site. Friends showed up to cry and mourn together over bouquets of daffodils and daisies, balloons, cards and candles.
But the upcoming days may be just as hard.
"The empty desk is there every day," said Hanson, the principal.
It's the third such blow recently to this close-knit school and community.
Earlier this school year, another student died after being struck by a car in Seattle. School-district administrators declined to disclose the details of the other death. The year before last, they said, two other students died: one from an accident, the other of terminal illness.
"Because of the incredible community support, we survive and manage," Hanson said. "But one of my students said last night, `This is too much.' "
Tomorrow and Tuesday, school counselors and teachers, along with community counselors, clergy and substitute teachers, will be at the school to help provide individual and group counseling, said school-district Superintendent Mimi Walker. All those support people will be at an all-school assembly tomorrow morning.
"At this point in their lives, they really shouldn't have to deal with this much and deal with it this well," Hanson said. "They really take care of each other."