Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Lutz crash takes life of popular teen

Counselors are help ing friends cope with the loss of the 15-year-old Spring Hill student .

By TOM MARSHALL
Published December 22, 2006

SPRING HILL - The holiday vacation began with heartbreak Thursday, as family and friends at three schools mourned the death of a much-loved Central High School student.

Chelsea Bushell, 15, died Wednesday following an afternoon car accident in Lutz.

Her grandfather said she had been on the way to a dentist appointment with younger brother Seth and their mother Beverly, a 41-year-old social studies teacher at West Hernando Middle School, at the time of the 3 p.m. collision.

"She was a great kid," said her grandfather, Charles Van Horn. "It's hard. She was my only granddaughter."

School district officials said crisis teams were on hand at both schools and at Pine Grove Elementary, where 11-year-old Seth is a student, to provide counseling.

"It's had a big effect here at the school, both with teachers and students," said Central principal Dennis McGeehan. "Our hearts go out to the whole family."

Police said Chelsea was seated in the back seat of her mother's GMC Yukon at the time of the accident at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Crystal Grove Boulevard in Lutz.

Their vehicle was southbound on U.S. 41 when it collided with an eastbound Kia driven by Amy E. Lapointe, 40, of Brooksville, said Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Larry Coggins.

The Yukon spun and flipped, landing on the driver's side.

Coggins said investigators are verifying witness statements that Beverly Bushell ran a red light just before the crash. No charges have been filed, he said.

Beverly and Chelsea Bushell were both taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, where Chelsea died just before 7 p.m., Coggins said. Beverly Bushell was treated and released. Seth Bushell suffered minor injuries.

The mother and son had been wearing seat belts in the front seat, Coggins said, while Chelsea was riding in the rear without a belt.

Chelsea is also survived by brother Jacob, a student at West Hernando Middle School; her father, Patrick; and a fraternal grandfather, Robert Livernois of Marshall, Mich.

[Last modified December 22, 2006, 06:08:39]