NITRO, W.Va. — A Kanawha County community is grieving following the weekend death of a recent Nitro High School graduate and current WVU freshman student.
Elizabeth O’Leary, 19, of Nitro, suffered fatal injuries Sunday afternoon after her vehicle rolled down a steep driveway near Lakeview Drive in Cross Lanes, hitting a hillside and pinning her body against a tree.
According to Kanawha County deputies, O’Leary was already dead when they arrived on the scene and it appeared that she had been partially inside the vehicle when it started rolling.
Deputies said the car had been left in “Drive” with no parking brake set, which caused it to roll. They also said she appeared to have been holding the steering wheel which may have caused it to turn off of the driveway and into the hillside where her body was pinned. The car was found overturned a short distance from her body.
Nitro High teacher and House of Delegates member Andy Shamblin said he had the privilege of not only being O’Leary’s teacher but her friend, as well, and the whole school is still reeling from the accident.
“Tragic…and shocking… everyone is still here trying to take it in at the school,” said Shamblin.
After graduating from Nitro High School last year, O’Leary was a freshman in pre-engineering at WVU and she had been at home for the weekend attending a family event.
Shamblin said she was one of the top students in her class, and she was a member of the Honor Society, student council, and played on the soccer team.
He reminisced about when she was a student in his honor’s 10th grade U.S History class and how she was very intellectual, had a strong personality and a love for historical debate.
“She would debate with me and argue with me over various historical and political topics and we would challenge each other, and we hit it off right away because of that,” Shamblin told MetroNews.
Shamblin went on to say O’Leary was one of the only two female students in the pre-engineering program at WVU.
While Shamblin is burdened by her loss, he is also grateful for the time he had getting to know O’Leary as a person, and he says it’s a harsh reminder to not take anyone’s lives for granted.
“It was just a freak accident, and it’s just a reminder, as one of my students told me today, it could have been any one of us and we can’t take a single day for granted,” he said.
Shamblin adds the loss of O’Leary will resonate throughout the whole community.
“She was the kind of student who had an infectious personality, she drew people to her, and it has definitely left a huge void within the Nitro community that will not be forgotten,” Shamblin said.
Elizabeth’s candlelight memorial will be Wednesday at 7:30 at the Nitro High School football field.