Teenage girl's decision to dance on top of moving Cadillac Escalade ends in tragedy
A Missouri teenage girl has died after falling off an SUV she was dancing on, before getting hit by a fire truck.
Nyla Simmons, 18, was killed late Saturday night when she was flung from the vehicle and struck.
The crash happened around 11:20 p.m. at the intersection of Compton and Chouteau, according to the St. Louis Police.
'A preliminary investigation revealed that a Cadillac Escalade was stopped at a red light on the corner of Chouteau and South Compton,' police said.
'The Escalade made a left turn and an 18-year-old woman who was dancing on the roof, fell off and onto the pavement.
'Moments later, she was struck by a fire truck who was going lights and sirens responding to a call.'
Her parents, Everett and Letrice Simmons, told KMOV Nyla was out doing what she loved and having fun when she was killed.
'That's what hurt the most, the way she died. Nyla was out having fun. That's what she's like, out having fun, hanging with her friends,' her mother, Letrice, said.
Nyla was attending a friend's prom send-off before the crash. Her parents said they do not fault her friends for her death, but do hope they learn from it.
'We want all her people and her friends to take this and learn from it,' said her father, Everett.
'We've all been young before, we all have done some type of thing where it could have ended up bad for us.'
Her mother added, 'Don't get on top of a car, ya'll, just don't get on top, just be safe.'
Nyla graduated from Parkway North High School last year and was set to start cosmetology school at Grabber School of Hair Design on Monday, according to the local news station.
'I'm highly distraught that I don't get to see what she was going to become,' her father said.
Nyla was the youngest of five children, and her parents remembered their baby girl as a person who lit up every room she went into.
'Nyla was going to be an entrepreneur, Nyla was going to be great in this world, and it's tragic that she's not here,' said Everett.
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