Two “inseparable” sisters were among the students killed and injured when the vehicle they were traveling in crashed into a tree in rural Michigan.
Jordyn Bigham, 15, and Jadisson “Jada” Bigham, 16, were traveling with three other Mattawan High School students when the vehicle left West R Avenue in Texas Township and struck a tree shortly after 3.20am on Sunday.
Jordyn was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene, alongside an unidentified 16-year-old driver, the sisters’ grandmother told WWMT.
The vehicle caught fire after the collision. Jada, her friend Liyra Fuller and another teenager were taken to a local hospital.
Jada was in stable but critical condition, her grandmother Christina Norris said.
The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office said another teenager was also stable but critical, while a third injured student was in “very critical condition.”
“The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office extends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of the students who lost their lives,” it said in a statement.
“Our thoughts are also with the injured students, their loved ones and the students, teachers and staff of Mattawan High School during this difficult time.”
Jordyn Bigham, 15, and Jadisson “Jada” Bigham, 16, were traveling with three other Mattawan High School students when their vehicle left West R Avenue in Texas Township and hit a tree shortly after 3.20am on Sunday. Source: GoFundMe
Jordyn was pronounced dead at the scene, while Jada remained in hospital in stable but critical condition. Source: GoFundMe
In a separate statement, Texas Township Fire Rescue said: “Words cannot express the sorrow we feel for the families, friends and loved ones affected. We extend our deepest condolences to those grieving and are keeping those injured in our thoughts.
“We are grateful to our firefighters and fellow emergency responders for the compassion, professionalism and care they showed during an incredibly difficult response.
“This is a heartbreaking loss for our community,” the fire department continued. “Please look out for one another in the days ahead.
“To our responders and anyone affected: If you need support or someone to talk to, please reach out. You are not alone,” it added.
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As investigators work to determine why the vehicle left the road in the small city of about 2,500 people, family members have remembered the sisters. Norris said her granddaughters were “inseparable.”
“Where there was one, there was both,” she said. “They didn’t go anywhere without each other, hardly ever.”
Norris also described Jordyn as “my baby angel.”
“‘Was,’” she said. “Who says ‘was’ about their grandkid?”
Liyra Fuller (pictured) was also injured in Sunday’s crash. Source: GoFundMe
Fortunately, she said, the family is expecting Jada to make a full recovery, albeit ‘a very long, long recovery.’
In the meantime, Steve Nelson said: ‘Their mother is now carrying a heavy burden that no parent should ever have to face: mourning the loss of one daughter while standing by the hospital bed of another.’
‘Without medical insurance, the family is overwhelmed by the immediate costs of funeral and memorial expenses for Jordyn, as well as the rapidly accumulating medical bills for Jada’s life-saving care,’ he wrote in an online fundraiser that had netted nearly $70,000 for the family by Tuesday night.
‘Because Jada requires round-the-clock support, their mom is unable to work during this critical time,’ Nelson noted.
‘No family should have to endure such a tragic loss while worrying about how to afford the care their surviving child needs,’ he continued, after noting that Jordyn ‘leaves behind a family that loves her deeply and a community mourning the bright future she had ahead of her.’
A makeshift memorial was created at the crash site for the victims
A separate online fundraiser created to support the Fuller family during Liyra’s recovery has also raised $10,445.
Community members further remembered the victims at a vigil Monday night in Mattawan High School’s parking lot, while a makeshift memorial of flowers and balloons marks the site of the crash.
Mattawan Consolidated School District Superintendent Randy Fleenor told WZZM that the community’s response to the tragedy has moved him.
‘Just to know we’re not alone, that we’re all in this together, [that] means a great deal to the students here and the staff that know these kids,’ he said.
