A South Carolina community is mourning the loss of one of its young stars.
Savannah Megan Holmes, age 17, of Brunson, was killed in a car crash on Highway 321 in Jasper County on Saturday morning. She was driving to work, when her car ran off the road and into a tree.
Now, the Hampton area is coming together to remember Holmes, and celebrate the life she lived.
“Savannah’s one of those individuals that she was always smiling,” said Booster Club President and Pastor George Skinner.
“She was somebody that anybody could talk to, and everybody loved, even if they didn’t know her so well,” said Cross Country teammate Jordie Skinner.
It was a whirlwind weekend of emotions for the Wade Hampton High School track team and community. On Friday, Savannah Holmes won three medals at a track meet.
Then on Saturday morning on her way to work at McDonald’s in Port Wentworth, GA, she was killed in a car crash.
“When I heard about it, I really couldn’t believe it…and I know that that could have been anybody,” said teammate Jordie Skinner.
“Initially, it did strike me extremely hard, as if I’d lost one of my own,” said Heather Skinner, Holmes’ former ninth grade English teacher.
On Sunday, the track team came together to remember her on their field. George Skinner tried to motivate them, going into Wednesday’s big meet.
“You know, we’ve already heard that some of the members of the track team are ready to give up on track…[Holmes] did all for the Glory, and I think she would want them to do likewise. She would want them to go out and run the race to the best of their ability,” he said.
His daughter, Jordie, still finds the crash surreal.
“It just happened to be her, you know. It could have been me, any of the other students at the school, and I guess it’s really hard to understand why it had to be her,” she says.
His wife, Heather Skinner, flipped through the yearbooks to see photos of Holmes as a track and cross-country star and cheerleader. She hopes for healing for the team and community.
“I realize that there is something to be learned, and that is that we’re here just for moments, and we don’t know which one is our last moment. I can feel satisfied that Savannah lived for each moment of her life to have meaning, and it’s something that we can all learn and we can honor her memory by living the same way she did,” Heather Skinner said.
Counselors were Monday at Wade Hampton High, for anyone dealing with grief.
