NORTH CAROLINA/SOUTH CAROLINA — Two school districts in the Carolinas are mourning the loss of students who were killed in separate crashes over the weekend.
The Public Schools of Robeson County said 18-year-old Ta’Nyah Pittman, a student at Fairmont High School, died in a single-vehicle crash Saturday evening near the Fairmont community in North Carolina.
According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the crash happened on Lizzie Road near Iona Church Road west of Fairmont. Investigators said a 2013 Kia traveling west went off the right side of the roadway, struck a ditch and overturned several times.
Pittman was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Public Schools of Robeson County said grief counselors were made available for students and staff following her death.
In South Carolina, the Marlboro County School District is also mourning the loss of a 16-year-old Marlboro County High School student who was killed Friday in a dirt bike crash on Gravel Pit Road in Bennettsville.
The Marlboro County Coroner’s Office said the teen died at the scene.
Classmates gathered around the school’s flagpole Monday morning to pray for the teen’s family. A video of the vigil circulated widely on social media.
Students at both schools said coping with the deaths of classmates at such a young age has been difficult for their communities.
