An accident involving a semi truck killed a 13-year-old girl on the west side of Indianapolis this Friday. The young lady was named Justice Holifield, and was a resident of Indianapolis. Her parents have been notified of the accident.
According to reports, Holifield and several classmates were riding with their band instructor, Kyle Bieda. Bieda is 26, while the other two students are 12 and 13. Bieda states the group was on their way to purchase some items for an event at their school.
Bieda was turning from a city road onto the interstate when the semi truck, coming from the opposite direction, collided with his Oldsmobile. Justice died shortly after the collision.
According to local news sources, the Indiana Public School (IPS) system released a statement about Justice a few hours after the accident.
“The entire IPS family is deeply saddened by the loss of Justice Holifield, a seventh-grade beginning band student at Harshman Magnet Middle School. In an effort to help students and staff deal with their grief, members of the district’s crisis team will be at the school on Monday to provide support and counseling. IPS asks the community to keep Justice and her family in their thoughts during this difficult time.”
The other two passengers from Bieda’s car were treated for minor injuries, and are expected to be released from the hospital over the weekend. Bieda appears to have been largely unharmed himself.
There is as yet no word on who was at fault in the accident. Police say that alcohol does not seem to have factored into the collision. Further, there have been no citations issued in the accident, either to Bieda or to the semi driver. Whether the investigation is ongoing or closed is currently unclear.
What is clear is that semi trucks remain a very dangerous, real presence — and not simply on interstate highways.
