FLORENCE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A crash that killed two 16-year-old girls has Florence County in mourning.
Two crosses surrounded by flowers and a photo of two best friends sit at a memorial about a mile from Florence County High School.
Melody Hughey is now coping with the loss of two friends. 16-year-old Paige Raspor and Isabella Burrows.
“I met Isabella in this parking lot…”
The girls were killed when the car Burrows was driving hit a tree.
It happened on County Road N in Commonwealth Township Friday morning around 6:30.
Hughey tells FOX 11 the friends were on their way to work.
Many have come to the scene of the accident to leave messages and mementos.
Hughey says she’s still processing everything.
“I’m talking to friends and trying to keep my mind off it. It’s hard to because they were a big part of my high school career,” Said Hughey. “It’s hard to think when I go back to school they’re not going to be there.”
Faculty at the school is encouraging students to get help from the school psychologist, at local churches or with human services in Florence.
Hughey says once she’s ready, she’ll seek help dealing with the loss.
“it’s going to be hard for me to walk in that building.”
For now, she holds on to her memories with the girls.
“We went to prom together and we danced the night away and we had a blast and they’re really going to be missed in this community. That was one of those memories I’m just never going to forget. It was dear to my heart because it’s the last one I have of them.”
Florence County is a tight-knit community of 5,000 people, and Hughey says the loss is affecting everyone.
