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Communities are mourning the Concord-Carlisle students who died in a Florida crash. Here’s what we know about them.
Friends took to social media to honor their lost classmates.
The Concord and Carlisle communities are reeling after the news broke that three high school seniors were killed in a car crash in Florida on Monday, while a fourth remains in critical condition.
The students were on spring break when their car collided with a tractor-trailer making a U-turn along U.S. Highway 98 Monday evening.
Jimmy McIntosh and Hannah Wasserman died in the crash. Maisey O’Donnell died later at the hospital.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
The seniors, all 18, are leaving behind families, friends, and community members whom they all touched during their time at the Concord-Carlisle High School.
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“We are very appreciative of the outpouring of love during what is absolutely heartbreaking,” Concord-Carlisle Regional School District Superintendent Laurie Hunter said in a statement shared with news outlets. “We are all devastated beyond what we can understand today. I know that difficult days ahead will be ones we face together.”
Here’s what people are saying about each of them:
Maisey O’Donnell
According to the Boston Globe, Maisey O’Donnell was a two-time state champion diver, and a high honors, straight-A student.
She will be honored for a second time as Girls Diver of the Year when the Globe’s All-Scholastic teams come out in early May.
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O’Donnell planned to attend Williams in the fall, and her coach said she would have been a star in college.
“If you have an angry, rude person on the team who’s a superstar, the kids think that’s how you become a superstar,” Joe Chirico, the AAU national diving director and 45-year coach of Boston Area Diving, told the Globe. “If you have somebody kind and gentle on the team who’s a great diver, that’s what they become.”
“She was,” Chirico said, “the model that every coach would want for their program.”
O’Donnell spent the last five years competing for the Boston Area Diving, one of New England’s premier clubs, the Globe reported. She traveled across the country for meets and spent countless hours in and around the pool.
Liv Davidson, who teamed with O’Donnell in synchronized diving at AAU Nationals two summers ago, told the Globe that O’Donnell showed up with “infectious positivity.”
“I was always amazed that at every competition, she would become friends with divers from across the country and gave them words of encouragement and kindness, even as she was competing against them,” Davidson said to the Globe. “Her personality was like sunshine.”
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Her boyfriend, Ryan Valentine, also shared a message on social media, which The New York Post shared.
“Your happiness was always so infectious, and you couldn’t help but spread joy everywhere you went,” his message said. “Earth lost a lot of light today, but I know that the stars will shine brighter with you.”
Jimmy McIntosh
Friends took to social media to share their memories of McIntosh.
“All you ever did was be yourself and make others feel like they could do the same,” one friend wrote on Instagram. “Nothing will ever describe or mend the pain we feel now that you’re gone, but that is proof you are loved so deeply.”
Another friend from childhood remembers how he would wait for her to go biking every weekend, without a care in the world.
“You never cared how long you had to wait to hang out with someone or what you did, as long as you were with them,” his friend posted. “You were always down for an adventure, hikes in the woods, starting a cupcake company, or even putting on crazy outfits at the mall.”
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She continued, “You were so special to everyone, those who knew you knew you were absolutely contagious in the best way possible.”
Hannah Wasserman
Wasserman’s boyfriend, Warren Hansel, posted a heartfelt message to her on Instagram on Wednesday.
In his first and so far only post to Instagram, Hansel showed the pair heading to prom together, gearing up for a day of skiing and along the banks of Walden Pond.
“There are so many things I love about you and so many things I’m going to miss,” he wrote. “You made everyone around you so happy and energetic. I’ve never met someone with the ability to light up a room like you could.”
He continued, saying, “You are not just the love of my life but my best friend.”
Another friend posted on Instagram, remembering her time during dance competitions with her.
“Your laugh never failed to light up a room,” she wrote. “Whether it was at school, dance, or in my kitchen making your ‘orange’ sandwiches, I would always find myself laughing.”
She continued, “I am truly heartbroken you were taken from us far too soon.”
There was also a fraudulent GoFundMe page set up claiming to raise money for Wasserman’s funeral expenses. Superintendent Hunter said in a letter to the school community that the page did not belong to her family members and had been reported to GoFundMe.
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This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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