Thompson’s Station struggles after man, girl killed in wreck
Article via The Tennessean…
Parents are organizing a candlelight vigil at 6 p.m. Sunday at Heritage Elementary School for Cameron, a fifth-grader at the school.
“She just had a glowing personality,” said Heritage Elementary Principal David Allen. “She was a sweetheart and loved by all.”
The freak accident happened at about 3:20 p.m. Thursday on Buckner Road near the intersection of Highway 31 in Spring Hill. Ahlberg was talking to his wife on his cellphone telling her that he wasn’t feeling well, according to Lindsay Tomlin, one of the witnesses on the scene who later spoke with Ahlberg’s wife.
Ahlberg’s wife encouraged him to pull over, Tomlin recounted. He turned into the Daily’s station.
After that, Daily’s employees, including Tomlin, saw Ahlberg slump in his Honda Accord as it went forward through the parking lot and over an embankment to T-bone the passenger side of the O’Reillys’ Ford SUV, which was stopped at a light on Buckner Road.
Cameron was pinned in the front seat. Once Spring Hill Fire Department extricated her, LifeFlight transported her to Williamson Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Her father, Chuck, was able to escape from the vehicle, and her younger sister Abby, a third-grader at Heritage, was injured but has been released from the hospital.
About 24 hours later, Spring Hill police cordoned off the area again to investigate further.
“I’ve never seen anything compared to this,” Tomlin said Friday.
She was one of the Daily’s employees and customers who rushed to the crash site to try to help. Ahlberg’s medical emergency is unclear, but when another employee reached him, he had hit his head on the steering wheel and his pulse was very weak. He was taken by EMS to Williamson Medical, where he was pronounced dead.
Teachers grieve
Daily’s manager Chief Jacobs put a sign on the door Friday for customers to please refrain from asking staff questions after customer after customer wanted to learn more.
At Heritage Elementary, Principal Allen will open the school early Wednesday for teachers.
“I need to take care of my staff,” he said, adding that many on staff are distraught. Then from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Allen will have counselors on hand to speak with parents and children who wish to come.
Once school resumes Thursday, more counselors from around the county will be available. “And we’ll reach out to the ones we know who are most affected,” he said.
Allen had received at least 100 emails Friday from parents asking how they could help. He met with the O’Reilly family Friday and was amazed as the door to their home stood open.
“People just were in and out all day,” he said.
Cameron’s funeral will be noon Tuesday at St. Phillip’s Catholic Church in downtown Franklin. A section will be roped off for fifth-graders to sit together. Visitation will be 3-8 p.m. Monday at Spring Hill Memorial Funeral Home, 5239 Main St.
Funeral arrangements for Ahlberg were not available at press time.
Contact Vicky Travis at vtravis@tennessean.com
