A North Andover high school student was killed after being thrown from an SUV on Interstate 495 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Thursday night in a crash that left three other students injured, police and school officials said.
The 18-year-old driver died after she was hit by other vehicles on the highway, according to Massachusetts State Police. The three passengers in the SUV, all teenagers, had minor injuries, including a 17-year-old who was thrown from the vehicle after the driver.
The driver was Brenna Caisse, a 12th grader at North Andover High School, North Andover Public Schools Superintendent Gregg Gilligan said in a statement Friday, noting that the other three in the car were also students.
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"This is a tragedy for the Caisse family, our school, and the North Andover community. Our thoughts are with the Caisse family and the families of the other students involved in the accident," North Andover High School Principal Chet Jackson said in a statement, noting Caisse's "tremendous connections with staff and students."
The high school was set to open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for students and staff to come receive counseling. More counseling services will be available Monday, Jackson said.
The crash took place when the 2005 GMC Envoy carrying the teenagers collided with a Dodge Ram pickup truck that was pulling a camper about 9:17 p.m. near Route 114, police said. The SUV veered into the pickup's lane, hitting the camper and causing the driver to lose control.
The SUV went off the road, hitting the guard rail and rolling down the slope, then catching fire, police said.
The 17-year-old who was ejected from the vehicle and 16-year-old girls in the backseat were taken to Lawrence General Hospital, police said. The driver of the truck didn't have any apparent serious injuries.
The crash remained under police investigation Friday.
