Funeral announced for Cape Cod high school senior, 18, killed in crash after prom
Funeral services have been announced for an 18-year-old high school senior killed in a crash right after her prom night on Cape Cod.
Ava Lodico, 18, of Falmouth, died in a single-car crash that happened around 11 p.m. on May 17 on Acapesket Road, according to Falmouth police.
Lodico had just attended the high school's junior-senior prom, themed 'Garden of Lights,' which ended at 10 p.m. on Saturday. The crash happened about 10 minutes from the prom venue.
Visitations for Lodico will be held on May 27 from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. at Chapman Funerals & Cremations, located in Falmouth.
A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. on May 28 at Cape Cod Church, located at 1206 Nathan Ellis Hwy. in East Falmouth.
After her death, Lodico's loved ones were left behind devastated.
'We were all just dancing and having a great time at prom,' a friend of Lodico's, Erin Barr, told Boston 25.
'It's just so upsetting that this happened and extremely surreal .... She was just the sweetest soul to everybody,' Barr said.
One of Lodico's friends, Jazzy Fernandes, said she got a call about Lodico's crash on Saturday night, the outlet reported.
She tried to go to the scene of the crash, but it was blocked off, and found out Lodico had died when she got to the hospital.
Fernandes said, 'It doesn't feel real.'
Another close friend of Lodico's, Bea Mariani, said the two had been planning their joint graduation party and just made their invite list, the outlet said. Mariani took the first boat back from Martha's Vineyard when she heard of her friend's death.
Popular New England '80s band reunites for first live show in 33 years
Shadow of ICE arrest hangs over Worcester 'State of the City' speech
Suspect yells 'Free, free Palestine' after killing Israeli Embassy staff members in DC
Mass. State Lottery winner: Cumberland Farms sells $100,000 ticket
Mass. weather: Nor'easter to drench state with cold rain, whipping winds
Read the original article on MassLive.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump administration waiting on Hamas response to new cease-fire plan
May 30 (UPI) -- The White House said it was awaiting a response from Hamas to a 60-day cease-fire/hostage release proposal put forward by President Donald Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff, after Israel "signed off" on the deal. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the development at a White House news briefing Thursday. "Special Envoy Witkoff and the president submitted a cease-fire proposal to Hamas that Israel backed and supported. Israel signed off on this proposal before it was sent to Hamas. I can also confirm that those discussions are continuing and that we hope a cease-fire in Gaza will take place so that we can return all of the hostages home," Leavitt told reporters. However, she said Hamas had yet to agree to the deal. The Times of Israel reported that the deal called for Hamas to return 28 living and deceased hostages in two phases in exchange for a 60-day cease-fire and the freeing of 1,236 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and the bodies of a further 180. Israeli troops would also withdraw from some areas inside Gaza, with the exact details to be agreed in final "proximity negotiations" -- indirect talks -- between the sides. However, Hamas official Basem Naim said it had received an "offical response" from Israel on the proposal but that it "fails to meet any of the just and legitimate demands of our people, among them an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. Naim said that Hamas leadership was "undertaking a thorough and responsible review of the new proposal." "This evaluation is guided by a deep sense of national responsibility and a steadfast commitment to protecting the rights and the future of the Palestinian people on this land," Naim said. In a meeting with hostage families Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he accepted the deal but was not willing to end the war before he had achieved his goal of "eliminating Hamas." The deal also has to gain the backing of his cabinet, which is dominated by ministers from the far-right parties that make up Netanyahu's coalition government. Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the ultranationalist Jewish Power party, took to social media Friday to address Netanyahu directly, saying Hamas was not serious about a deal and urging an all-out military assault to end the matter once and for all. "Mr. Prime Minister, after Hamas rejected the deal proposal again, there is no longer any excuse for anyone to continue with this shuffling in Gaza. We have already missed enough opportunities. It is time to go in with all our might, to destroy, kill and get rid of Hamas," Ben-Gvir wrote on X.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Where KC's mayor travels isn't the problem. It's who pays, and what they stand to gain
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas delivers his State of the City address in February 2024 (photo courtesy of the City of Kansas City). How honest should elected officials be with the public? It's not a rhetorical question. In Kansas City, recent decisions by the mayor suggest a level of opacity that warrants closer scrutiny — not outrage, necessarily, but concern. Mayor Quinton Lucas has sidestepped ethics rules, not by breaking them outright, but by rerouting gifts through a nonprofit shielded from disclosure. His lavish trips, funded by interests with business before the city, now appear routine. The problem isn't where he travels. It's who pays, and what they stand to gain. A series of reports by The Missouri Independent outlined a troubling pattern in the mayor's conduct — one centered on secrecy, donor influence and potential retaliation against a whistleblower. At issue: his ties to politically-connected contractors, campaign finance maneuvering and the use of a nonprofit to obscure gift-giving — all while pushing a publicly subsidized downtown stadium. Kansas City mayor accused of skirting city gift ban by using nonprofit to pay for travel At the center is the Mayors Corps of Progress for a Greater Kansas City Inc., a 501(c)(4) nonprofit with a vague mission. During Lucas's first term, the organization covered more than $35,000 in travel, lodging, meals and tickets — including a $23,518 trip to the 2023 Super Bowl for Lucas, his then–chief of staff, and two police officers. The day after the game, the Heavy Constructors Association (commonly called the Heavies), a major construction lobbying group, wired $24,000 to the nonprofit. City ethics rules prohibit gifts over $1,000 to elected officials. Lucas claims these were work-related trips, yet he sought no city reimbursement and offered no public accounting. Instead, his team accepted dark-money donations from entities with business before the city, then kept the details quiet. We only know of them because a whistleblower came forward. The pattern repeated in 2024 and 2025, when Lucas again hit the Super Bowl circuit — without a whistleblower to reveal who paid the bill. In the following months, an anonymous investigation request was made to the Kansas City Municipal Ethics Commission, which just recently refused to engage, finding 'no justification' warranting it. Lucas, just back from a junket to Qatar, spoke about the issue with Kansas City radio host Pete Mundo. 'Big business exists around sports,' he told Mundo, 'it is the reason that so many of us are spinning our wheels to see where the teams play.' Lucas went on to say: 'I will be in any room where I can share what is happening with Kansas City… with a bunch of rich people who have money to invest in Kansas City.' The problem is not what room, or rather owner's box, the mayor is in. Nor is the problem his rubbing elbows with wealthy people. The problem isn't money from afar; it's money in the mayor's back yard. Lucas isn't accepting gifts from people who want to invest in Kansas City; he (or rather his nonprofit, but that's a distinction without much ethical difference here) is taking checks from businesses that want Kansas City to invest in them. Specifically, the Royals, which donated $15,000 to the Mayors Corps in 2022, and the Heavies, with its $24,000 donation around the Super Bowl, benefit mightily from any taxpayer funding. Lucas has presented himself as the man to make it happen — while refusing to disclose the terms of any deal. It's a huge potential conflict of interest that could be addressed with a little disclosure. Despite that, the mayor has doubled down on concealment, not transparency. A cynic would say none of this is surprising, probably least of all to Lucas himself, who said: 'I think the ethics commission got it right, I always knew they would.' Kansas City mayor accused of retaliating against whistleblower who revealed nonprofit spending The commission currently has five members, all appointed by Lucas. To its credit, the commission recommended changes to the city's code of ethics to clear up reporting requirements. But disregarding the complaint demonstrates the problem with dark money contributions. Because the Mayors Corps does not have any business before the city, the commission reasoned, there is no reporting requirement. But the Mayors Corp got the money from people with business before the city. That starts to look like the nonprofit functions as a vehicle to launder donations — something that, again, could be addressed with a little disclosure and that, you'd think, the group would be eager to clear up. Mark Funkhouser, Kansas City's mayor from 2007 through 2011, said when he entered office that the Mayors Corp, 'was explained to me as a slush fund that mayors had been using for many years to do just this sort of thing. Needless to say, I didn't have any fat cats willing to set up and contribute to such a fund for me.' Lucas does. In the radio interview, Lucas argued that by getting donations to pay for his trips, he was being a good steward of the city's finances. He called the idea that the city should cover his expenses, 'preposterous.' Taxpayers take note: If you're not paying for what your elected officials are up to, then there's a pretty good chance you're the product, not the customer. Advocating for taxpayer-funded development is one thing. Accepting undisclosed corporate gifts while doing so is another. It's not just a bad look; it undermines the city's ethics framework and public trust. The public deserves transparency, not evasive answers and twisted reasoning. And they deserve a mayor who respects rules, and the spirit of them.
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Live updates: Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill at least 14, medics say
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 14 people in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Friday, while Hamas was reviewing a new Israeli-approved ceasefire proposal after giving it an initial cool response. President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy had expressed optimism this week about brokering an agreement that could halt the Israel-Hamas war, allow more aid into Gaza, and return more of the 58 hostages still held by Hamas, around a third of whom are alive. Experts say a nearly three-month Israeli blockade of Gaza — slightly eased in recent days — has pushed the population of roughly 2 million Palestinians to the brink of famine. Israel's war in Gaza has killed around 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. The war began with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which left around 1,200 dead. Here's the latest: At least 14 dead in Gaza strikes, medics say Hospital officials and paramedics say Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 14 people and wounded others. Officials at Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza said the bodies of 12 people, including three women, were brought Friday from the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the bodies of two people as well as nine others who were wounded were taken to Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City. It said one of the wounded is a doctor who works at the same hospital. Hamas reviewing a new ceasefire proposal Hamas said Friday it was reviewing a new Israeli-approved ceasefire proposal. The White House said Thursday that Israel accepted a new U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas. Hamas officials, however, gave the draft a cool response, saying that it seeks to perpetuate Israel's policies of killing and starving people in Gaza. Still, the group said it was going to thoroughly review it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to end the war until all the hostages are released and Hamas is either destroyed or disarmed and sent into exile. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages for a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu undergoes a routine colonoscopy Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underwent a routine colonoscopy on Friday morning in Jerusalem, his office said. The office did not provide further information about whether Netanyahu was moderately sedated or under general anesthesia for the procedure. Netanyahu, 75, underwent successful surgery in December to have his prostate removed. Netanyahu has gone to great lengths to bolster a public image of himself as a healthy, energetic leader, as he manages multiple crises including the war in Gaza and his trial for alleged corruption, despite a series of recent health setbacks.
