Central Texas Girl, 17, dies in crash on her way to school

Gatesville High School student Chloe V. Janisch, 17, died Thursday morning in a crash on a rural Central Texas highway as she drove to school.

Janisch was a Gatesville High School junior.

The accident happened at around 7:50 a.m. Thursday on FM 107 between Mound and Gatesville.

Janisch was westbound in a 2003 Chevrolet pickup when she lost control of the truck, which overturned, ejecting her, Department of Public Safety Sgt. David Roberts said in a press release.

She was not wearing a seat belt, he said.

News of her death stunned classmates.

Gatesville ISD Superintendent Dr. Barrett Pollard said final exams that high school students were scheduled to take Thursday were postponed because of the fatal accident.

Counselors are available on campus.

“We’re really hurting,” he said.

The district prefers that high school students remain on campus, but Pollard said students may leave if parents pick them up.

“Our goal is to keep the kids off the highways right now,” he said.

The girl is the third Gatesville High School student to die in a traffic accident this spring.

Sophomores Kyle Tennison and Ethan Sandell, both 16, died shortly after 1 a.m. on April 27 after the driver of the 2003 Chevrolet pickup in which they were riding lost control of the truck, which left the roadway and crashed into a tree on Cedar Ridge Road approximately one-half mile north of Old Osage Road outside of Gatesville.

A third teenager who survived the crash, whose name has not been released, is recovering from the injuries.

Two Gatesville woman were indicted this week on multiple counts of providing alcohol to minors in connection with the investigation of the crash.