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What to Know
- Savannah Gatchell, a 13-year-old girl was going into eighth grade at Marblehead Veterans Middle School, died in an early morning car crash that closed Atlantic Avenue in town Tuesday morning.
- A 16-year-old boy believed to be driving the vehicle was charged with operating under the influence after being taken to a hospital with injuries.
- The leaders of the Marblehead Public Schools and Marblehead Police Department shared statements with condolences.
A Massachusetts family is grieving after a 13-year-old girl was killed in a Marblehead crash.
A 16-year-old boy is charged with operating under the influence in the crash that killed Savannah Gatchell early Tuesday morning on Atlantic Avenue.
“She was always there,” her sister, Alyssa, said Tuesday. “Always loving.”
Family members say Gatchell was going to start eighth grade in a few days at Marblehead Veterans Middle School. They remember her as a loving sister and kind daughter.
A memorial to her rests on the broken wall where the car crashed.
“I just know that he picked her up, and I was in New York and I got the call,” her sister said.
“There is an empty hole in my chest,” her mother said. “I don’t know how to move on.”
Marblehead Public Schools Superintendent John Robidoux said her death was “a devastating loss.”
“As we mourn with one another, we will support our students, faculty, and families with help from our administration and mental health teams,” Robidoux said.
Grief counselors will be available this week and into the school year at Veterans Middle School and Marblehead High School, he said, adding that the district was extending “heartfelt condolences to both families involved in this tragedy.”
Marblehead Police Chief Dennis King said the department was “extremely saddened” by the girl’s death.
“We share our deepest condolences with the victim’s family, loved ones, and anyone who is touched by this great loss. Our thoughts are with you,” King said in a statement. “Our priority in the coming days will be to support our community, and most importantly the victim’s family, as they navigate the loss of a daughter, family member, and friend.”
Marblehead police said in a social media post shortly after 6 a.m. that traffic on Atlantic Avenue was being rerouted due to the crash.
In an update Tuesday afternoon, the Essex District Attorney’s Office and Marblehead police said the crash occurred shortly before 3 a.m. in the area of 352 Atlantic Avenue.
Marblehead police and fire units responding to the scene found a vehicle with extensive damage. They said the girl suffered life-threatening injuries in the single-vehicle crash and died at the scene.
Authorities said a second person, a 16-year-old boy believed to be the driver of the vehicle, was treated for his injuries and taken to a local hospital. He was later arrested and charged with operating under the influence.
The crash remains under investigation by Marblehead police and state police. The district attorney’s office said no further details were immediately available since both parties are juveniles.
Anyone with information about the crash is being urged to call Marblehead Police Detective Sgt. Sean Brady at 781-631-1212.
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Jericho Tran, Marc Fortier and Asher Klein
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