16-year-old Cardinal Gibbons student killed in crash while driving to school

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Wednesday, October 17, 2018
School, friends recall student killed in crash
A memorial stands at the spot where Madeline Shook was killed on her way to Cardinal Gibbons High School.

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A 16-year-old girl died in a crash Tuesday morning while on her way to school, according to North Carolina Highway Patrol.

The crash happened around 7:30 a.m. on Possum Track Road near Raven Ridge Road in northern Wake County

Troopers said Madeline Shook's 2011 Volkswagen Jetta went off the side of the road. She crashed into several trees and did not survive.

Investigators said they did not see any skid marks on the road. Because of that, they are not sure what caused the crash.

Shook was a student at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh.

She was also a star runner on the Cross Country team and her teammates told ABC11 on Tuesday they were inspired by her dedication. But, more than anything, they were impressed by her friendliness.

"She was the sweetest person ever," said fellow student Shannon Coyle. "She had like a southern accent. She was so like friendly and caring to everyone. She literally cared about every single person. Like there wasn't anything wrong about her. Like you couldn't say one mean word about her ever. She was just an amazing person. I'm so glad I got to know her."

"Madeline was so fast. And running is so mental so a lot of people were negative sometimes at practice. But Madeline would never, would never give in," said student Caroline Todd. "And she would always try her hardest at every practice, every workout, every race."

The school released the following statement:

"We've let our students and educators know, we've prayed together as a school community, and are making sure that we have every resource and support available for her family and for our school community."