my classmate died

[XtremelyBaneful]

So some time during the summer, I think on the 14th of August, a classmate of mine was on a speedway driving a racecar and crashed and... that was it.

I wasn't close to her or anything, but she was my teammate and direct partner for a green group project for a sustainability class, so towards the end of last semester, I did interact with her for quite some time and then right after that in the summer... poof.

It's really sad. Especially because I don't think she had any siblings, I feel for her parents the most.

Her birthday was in July, so she just turned 21 before her fatal accident.

rest in peace, Amanda Gambacorto

 

[Erzengel]

Just cause you weren't extremely close doesn't mean you can't be saddened by this. Did you just find out?

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

Just cause you weren't extremely close doesn't mean you can't be saddened by this. Did you just find out?

I was very saddened by it, actually. I found out over the summer a few days after the accident, but I decided to make this thread now because last night the university held a vigil in her honor, and apparently over 500 people showed up to it. I swear I almost shed a tear over it too.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

When I was in highschool one of my best friends hung himself. 14 years later it still haunts me.

There were also two girls in one of my classes who died during the summer when their car drifted into oncoming traffic and collided with a Pepsi truck.

 

[Feenix]

When I was in highschool one of my best friends hung himself. 14 years later it still haunts me.

There were also two girls in one of my classes who died during the summer when their car drifted into oncoming traffic and collided with a Pepsi truck.

I'm sorry to hear that, JJJ

A few people I went to high school with died in car accidents, from drug overdoses, and from illnesses. I think it speaks to one's compassion and ability to feel that even if they weren't close to someone, they can still be affected by their death.

For you, Baneful, it's normal and even comforting to know that the death of someone you weren't close to can make you sad. It means you haven't lost touch with humanity.

 

[Duke]

When I was in high school one of the students I knew ( we weren't real close, just knew him from school) died when he & his friends went swimming in the lake. My condolences to you, & your friend's parents . RIP

 

[DarkSentinel]

This kid I knew in school got straight up murdered by a crazy old man. Shot point blank with a shotgun. A friend and I drove two hours to his funeral, the service was really nice. But still, for anyone to go that way just sucks.

 

[Octoberist]

First off, sorry for your loss.

It's a surreal moment because, one week you were interacting with this girl..and now those moments - even if they were just for school - are now gone. They're just memories and it's a surreal thing. It really makes you think that life is strange. People can die, and will die out of the blue.

I had a co-worker who died in a car accident. I kept thinking "I just saw him yesterday and we were joking around." Those joking moments are now gone. It was such a weird feeling.

 

[Hellion]

Sorry for your loss.

I've had two classmates die...both in car accidents...one guy...eleven years ago during our senior year and another classmate two years later...I had her as a classmate until middle school, but I had some friends who were still friends with her and I wouldn't have known except my friends who kept in contact with her family told me. Seeing this thread...I can't believe so much time has passed...

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

For you, Baneful, it's normal and even comforting to know that the death of someone you weren't close to can make you sad. It means you haven't lost touch with humanity.

yeah definitely man. everybody commits actions that may make themselves question their morality and what not, but when I first heard of this, I really could not stop thinking about it.

ulcer, even though it's been over a decade that your friend's been gone, i'm very sorry for your loss.

thank you Duke & everyone else for your condolences, I really feel for her parents, can't imagine how they are feeling every single day.

octoberist, you are right. it is very surreal. it may have been a short time, but those are days I am never going to forget.

Hellion and darksentinel, sorry to hear about your losses as well and thank you all, for taking the time to read my OP.

 

[W/ Great Power]

I'm very sad to hear this, XB.

Last year, I lost someone who wasn't exactly my best friend either, but someone I spoke to every other day in high school.

This guy was the most ideal son two parents could ask for, the only child they had. He wasn't just nice, but he was such a gentle soul to the point where I couldn't even imagine him saying a bad word to anyone. We had "A Days" and "B Days" where I went to school, and our B Days were practically the same.

Two days before I got the news, I ran into him at my local Giant and I'll never forget what he said: "It's great to see you, man. We walked together in high school, and we'll walk together when we finish college." He gave me a hug and that was the last time I saw him.

48 hours later, he was walking home from church, of all places. Two guys tried to get a hold of his wallet and phone, but all it took was one bullet to his femoral artery and he left everyone wondering how such a pure soul could leave us so quickly.

I visit his grave once a month, along with a couple other loved ones I've lost, just to remind myself how short this life is.

Best wishes to you, my friend.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

This kid I knew in school got straight up murdered by a crazy old man. Shot point blank with a shotgun. A friend and I drove two hours to his funeral, the service was really nice. But still, for anyone to go that way just sucks.

I knew someone who was murdered. Shot execution style during a drug deal gone wrong. We weren't that close, but we talked on AIM a bit and went to the same parties.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

I'm sorry to hear that, JJJ

Thank you. It doesn't hurt like it did a decade ago, but I'm still mad at him. And feel sorry for him. My feelings regarding it are very complicated. It caused a lot of people a lot of hurt.

 

[Guts]

Last year I found out that another student from my graduating class had died when he went swimming up north in Lake Michigan. Also this year my mom had met this woman that she had babystitted when she was a kid and a couple months later she found out that there was a break in at her apartment and she was murdered. I find it creepy that you can run into someone that you only knew when they were a kid and then later you find out that person had been killed.

 

[Hobgoblin]

Sorry to hear that, Baneful.

I had a classmate die of a suicide in high school, and seven kids were killed in a bus/train accident when I was a freshman. A guy in my college dorm died of a genetic autoimmune disease in 2001. In 2009 a guy that I went to high school with ended up homeless and stayed with some guy for the winter. One night the room mate went crazy and stabbed my former classmate to death. Really tore the guy apart. *shudder*

 

[Silvermoth]

I'm really sorry to hear that xtremebaneful. The same thing happened to me twice.

A girl died of meningococcal in year 7 and a boy drowned at the end of year 12 as soon as he finished high school and was about to start his new life.

It really sucks but it's important to know who to talk to at your school if you need to work things out like a friend, teacher or if your school has a welfare teacher/psychologist

 

[Spider-Aziz]

My condolences Baneful, and everyone else here

One of my friends died 4 years ago in a car accident

 

[chamber-music]

My condolences Baneful.

A class mate of mine died when she was hit by a truck. Another kid in my high school committed suicide

 

[Xantusia]

So sorry about this. I've lost a couple classmates (though I didn't know them too well) to drugs.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

thank you all for your condolences, it means very much to me that you took the time to read my OP and respond.

and reading all of your other posts about people you've known that passed away makes me realize we really take for granted, the general idea, that at any point, at any time, anyone can lose a life. it happens every day, and we grieve and we mourn for our lost ones and the cycle continues.

but as cosmicpinchy mentioned how important it is to keep in touch with humanity, having an awareness of how suddenly life can be taken, I hope everyone realizes how much value your own life holds, as well as all those around you.

 

[Spider-Who?]

Reminds me of when I was in high school a student died over christmas break. They said he fell asleep in his bed and (somehow) his bed caught on fire while his parents were out of town....but it turned out he committed suicide: downed a bottle of sleeping pills and set his room on fire.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

A kid in one of my classes Sophomore year killed himself one night after school. I didn't know the kid that well, but he was really good friends with a few friends of mine. I remember coming into class and everyone was crying and we had a guidance counselor in there and it was just so surreal.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

I don't mean to bump this thread, I just wanted to share one last thing, which is this tree that has been painted onto a window pane at the sustainability office on campus.

 

[CapedCrusader14]

A couple years back just before Christmas a classmate I had known since I was at least 9-10 died from a blood clot on the brain. We were in Grade 11 (17 years old) at the time. We weren't necessarily close but I considered him a fantastic young guy that everyone loved, me included. That's a pain I'll never forget, never seen so much grief shared by so many I know and care about.

 

[Schlosser85]

First off, sorry for your loss.

It's a surreal moment because, one week you were interacting with this girl..and now those moments - even if they were just for school - are now gone. They're just memories and it's a surreal thing. It really makes you think that life is strange. People can die, and will die out of the blue.

I had a co-worker who died in a car accident. I kept thinking "I just saw him yesterday and we were joking around." Those joking moments are now gone. It was such a weird feeling.

My roommate's mom died in a car accident Friday night. I can still vividly see her and hear her voice, and even after going to her empty house, its hard to associate that she's just...gone.