Pleasant Grove High 11th Grader Dies Days After Head-On Crash Near Jackson Highway
ELK GROVE (CBS13) – An eleventh grader at Pleasant Grove High School has died from injuries she suffered in a crash back in January.
The crash happened on Jan. 22 along Eagles Nest Road, near Kiefer Road and north of Jackson Road. Five people, all students at Pleasant Grove High, were in a car that was struck head-on by another car that had veered into the opposite lane.
According to the California Highway Patrol, a woman who was driving the other car was killed in the crash.
READ MORE: Fatal Head-On Crash Rattles Students At Pleasant Grove High School
On Monday, Pleasant Grove High Principal Taigan Keplinger sent a letter to families announcing that student Gina (Genevieve) Shen Brinsmead has passed away over the weekend.
"Gina experienced many beautiful friendships during her time in our school," Keplinger wrote. "Gina is kind, generous, creative, talented, and full of compassion. She is loved by many."
Brinsmead was involved in the yearbook and theater production, Keplinger said, and was starting to learn how to play guitar.
"It was really depressing, it was very sad," said student Trevor Beach.
Brinsmead told her family at the beginning of the school year "I just want to have fun in high school." It's something she won't be able to make happen in her last two years at Pleasant Grove.
"It's really sad it happened to somebody," a sophomore student said.
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Students shared stories of Brinsmead on Monday.
"How positive she was, how she's going to make a big impact on the school and the community," said Beach.
Extra emotional support will be available on campus for grieving students.
On Monday afternoon, another crash happened in the same exact spot in a very similar fashion. Neighbors who live in the area say they see a crash in this area almost every week.
Steve Liddick has lived off of Eagles Nest Road for 25 years.
He says, "A lot of crashes here, some fatal. Sometimes we hear them they're so bad, we hear the crash at our house."
He was driving home when he saw another crash happen and pulled over. Thankfully no one was seriously hurt. He was sad to hear such a young life was lost in what he calls a "treacherous road."
"People still won't be any more intelligent drivers than they are now, but a traffic light would help. Certainly, wouldn't hurt," he said.
CHP says the investigation into why that driver veered into the other lane is ongoing. The other four students in the car were hurt, their injuries ranging from minor cuts and scrapes to broken bones.
No memorial for Brinsmead has been announced at this point.