A young TikTok star was killed in a head-on collision days after posting a video saying she had never hit another car.
The 18-year-old girl died after a driver in a Chevrolet sedan drove the wrong way on a Florida highway and plowed into her Nissan SUV, the New York Post reported, citing the Florida Highway Patrol. The incident occurred March 17 on Highway 29 in Escambia County, according to the outlet.
The young girl was identified as Kara Santorelli, a senior at Northview High School, according to WEAR. The driver of the Chevrolet was also killed in the incident but has not yet been identified, the NY Post reported. (RELATED: ‘Ejected From The Car’: Six Young Girls Die In Fatal Accident, EMS Says)
Santorelli highlighted her allegedly unblemished driving record in a TikTok video six days before the incident. “When they try call [sic] me a bad driver but I’ve never hit a person or an actual car,” she wrote in a text box in the video. The clip went viral in the wake of her death, gathering millions of views on the social media platform.
@kara_santorelli13♬ original sound – loeeza.
Friends and those who knew Santorelli, including her employer and her high school, offered their condolences to her family as they mourn.
“We are deeply sorry for the tragic loss of our senior Kara Santorelli. We hold tight to beautiful memories that she had left with us. Her beautiful smile and kind spirit will continue to be in the hearts of her friends and classmates,” Northview High wrote in a statement March 20, adding the administration was praying for Santorelli’s family.
“She just made it really nice for us,” Jimmy Carter, the owner of Jimmy’s Grill where Santorelli worked, told WEAR. “You can see that big smile. It would just be a pleasant time to be with her when she worked.”
A “Celebration of Life” event was held in remembrance of Santorelli at Pensacola Beach on March 25.
