5 days ago
Female school board member forced to quit after scandalous death of teenage girl at her $1.8m home
A female board member for a ritzy Oregon school has resigned after a 17-year-old girl died during a boozy party at her stunning $1.8 million home.
Scappoose School District Board Chair Branda Jurasek has stepped down from her role after outraged parents called for her removal in the aftermath of the tragedy.
According to a probable cause affidavit, high school senior Ava Crews died on May 18 while riding an ATV driven by her friend Ayden Heard at Jurasek's compound.
Heard, 18, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and other charges connected with the horrific crash in the wealthy enclave of Sauvie Island, just north of Portland.
Prosecutors said he admitted to drinking alcohol before getting behind the wheel, and that he made an abrupt turn which caused the car to flip over, killing Crews.
Parents from Scappoose High School were outraged that Jurasek, the woman tasked with overseeing their children's education, set a terrible example by allowing minors to drink heavily on the grounds of her luxury home.
Heard and Crews were at the party in a barn beside the board member's $1.8 million house, which is surrounded by greenery and sits close to the Gilbert River.
Parents penned an anonymous letter addressed to the School District Board of Education and Multnomah County District Attorney calling for Jurasek to resign - and for the attorney's office to investigate her.
After two months of pressure from the public, Jurasek submitted her resignation letter last week, saying that she and her husband had been 'devastated' by Crews' death.
In the letter dated August 7, she said she wished for 'hope for peace and healing for everyone affected by this tragedy'.
Jurasek denied providing alcohol to the minors, and said she was quitting her role because the scandal was interfering with the board's work.
'Some people have made serious accusations about our family in the days since Ava's death,' Jurasek wrote.
'We want our community to know that the claims are false. We did not provide alcohol to minors.
'We do not condone underage drinking, and we have never allowed it in our home.'
Crews (pictured) was 'kind and beautiful inside and out', her friends said as they posted heartbreaking tributes on social media. She is pictured in happy images from her Instagram
Prosecutors have not charged Jurasek with providing alcohol to children, but the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office said in court documents that high schoolers frequently consumed alcohol on the property where the crash occurred.
Crews' mother, Brooke Crews, said that pressure from the public and media ultimately forced Jurasek to resign.
Writing on Facebook, she said it was 'this incredible community raising awareness on social media that pushed her to resign'. 'My gratitude is endless,' Crews added.
Her daughter was described by heartbroken friends as 'kind and beautiful inside and out' as they posted tributes online in the days after her death.
Ava Crews is pictured in her final school photograph, and in several images on her Instagram account showing a happy childhood as she posed with her friends at prom and enjoyed trips to the beach with her family.
Heard's attorney, Mark Cogan, said the teen has been left distraught by the tragedy.
'They were friends,' Cogan told Oregon Live of Crews and Heard.
'She was a very dear person to Ayden and his family, and they're very sorrowful about what happened to her.'
