Haley Nichole Scroggins

Montgomery Advertiser (AL) - December 3, 2008

Deceased Name: Haley Nichole Scroggins: Local 8th-grader killed in car crash

By Don Fletcher Progress staff writer While the biological family of 14-year-old Haley Nichole Scroggins was preparing Tuesday to say its final good-byes to the teen, her extended family -- fellow students, teachers and administrative staff of Prattville Junior High School -- was also trying to come to grips with its collective grief. Scroggins, an eighth-grader who represented her class on the PJHS Student Council, reportedly succumbed Friday to injuries she received Thanksgiving Day in a violent, early-afternoon two-car collision at the intersection of two rural Autauga County roads. Details of the fatal wreck, including what factors might have contributed to it, were not available by Tuesday afternoon's press deadline. But preliminary reports filed by Alabama State Troopers indicated that the youngster was the most seriously injured among four people who were taken to Montgomery hospitals as a result of the wreck. Trooper reports indicate that Scroggins and 16-year-old Cody Hicks of Clanton were passengers in a 2002 Chevrolet that was being driven by Robert Hicks, also 16 and also of Clanton. Around 4:15 p.m., reports indicate, that vehicle was involved in a collision that also involved a 1997 Saturn driven by Codi Harrison, age not provided, of Prattville. A Prattville Fire Department ambulance was sent to the crash site, near the intersection of Autauga County Roads 42 and 21, at 4:17. As reports of the accident's severity were received, the two-man crew -- Sgt. Medic Jason Ogletree and Fire Medic Starling Morris -- radioed for medical reinforcements. PFD reports indicate that three additional ambulances were dispatched to the scene of the emergency operation, which was commanded by Capt. Jay Hawthorne. All four individuals involved in the wreck were taken to Montgomery medical facilities. Scroggins, who was the daughter of Jason and Tammy Scroggins of Prattville, and the Clanton teens, each of whom reportedly suffered "serious injuries," were taken to Baptist Medical Center South's emergency center. Harrison, who was not seriously injured, was taken to Jackson Hospital. According to the teen's obituary, she died at the hospital at some time on Friday. PJHS Principal Spence Agee said just hours prior to the youngster's Tuesday funeral that counselors from throughout the county public school system were stationed at the junior high school on Monday in an attempt to help the popular youngster's schoolmates deal with their grief. "We got through it on Monday, we'll get through it today," he said. "But it's going to be rough." Agee, the father of two young girls, said Scroggins's death was particularly hard on him. "Haley was a sweet girl, a smart girl," he said. "I went to her visitation Monday night, and I was just bawling. I haven't cried since my granddaddy died, about 10 years ago. I'm an old Army veteran, and I've been at this school for eight years, but I literally cried in her mother's arms." Agee said the loss of any student is hard to swallow, but that the school and the county lost a future leader when Scroggins lost her life. "I love all 1,200 of these kids just like they were mine," he said. "But Haley was, all-around, just a super girl who never caused one ounce of trouble. She was always respectful, just a model kid. This is just a tragic, tragic event."

Montgomery Advertiser (AL)
Date: December 3, 2008
Author: Don Fletcher
Record Number: sns21520698
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