Early Sunday morning on a Kentucky interstate, an 18-year-old university student was tragically killed when a tire detached from a truck on the northbound side of the highway and broke through her windshield.
The Walton Fire Department was called to the scene and managed to extract the victim, Lauren Collins, from the wreckage of her 2012 Buick LaCrosse. Collins was then rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, however, she did not survive.
The truck and the driver have yet to be identified, but the Boone County Sheriff’s Office believes it was a dual pickup truck with four tires along the rear axle.
Collins had just finished her first year as a fashion merchandising major at the University of Kentucky and graduated from high school in May 2022. Her obituary described her as a “free spirit” and a “jokester” with impeccable style who loved to dance.
Her cousin wrote on Facebook, expressing that she felt blessed to have known Collins and grateful that their families were able to come together. She added that she would treasure their times together and that heaven was gaining a precious angel.