Fultondale High School is grieving the loss of two “shining stars,” students and friends who died just over 24 hours apart.
Destiny Marie Walker, 14, was killed Tuesday night in a horrific crash while riding in a vehicle with three of her teen girlfriends. Shelton Waldrop, 17, died Monday after three years of battling a rare and aggressive form of lung cancer.
“It’s just shocking,’’ said Fultondale High School principal Stephanie Robinson. “We should not be dealing with death and the students should not be facing this.”
The crash that killed Destiny happened at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 8000 of Rouse Road. Destiny was a passenger in a Honda traveling northwest when the car appears to have veered off the right side of the road, over-corrected and then struck a tree on the left side of the road. The impact split the sedan in half.
Destiny, a freshman, was pronounced dead on the scene. Authorities said the surviving victims are the 16-year old driver and two 15-year-old passengers. One of them was taken to Children’s of Alabama and two others to UAB’s freestanding hospital in Gardendale. One of the girls was critically injured and the other two were injured but not critically. The survivors did not attend Fultondale schools.
Shelton, a junior, was diagnosed with cancer in 2016 after he began to complain of shoulder and side pain.
After several weeks of thinking it might be a pulled muscle, he went to the doctor for tests and a chest x-ray showed his lung was collapsed and collecting fluid. On March 4, 2016, his father said, his son was diagnosed with Synovia Cell Sarcoma, becoming one of only 52 adolescents in the world with the disease at the time.
Shelton underwent a grueling regimen of chemotherapy and vowed to fight the cancer. “When they first told him, he was upset as anyone would be,'' his father, Leeds police Officer Richard Waldrop, told AL.com in 2016. “About three days into it, he looked at me and his mom and said, 'You know, I’m going to kick cancer’s butt because God’s got a plan for me. His attitude has been 110 percent ever since.”
Shelton, who dreamed of being a firefighter and/or a SWAT officer, captured the hearts of first responders around Jefferson County. Departments countywide hosted special events for the teen.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office let Shelton dress head-to-toe in their gear and spend a day firing guns, tossing flash bangs and riding to lunch in their raid van. Fultondale firefighters and police were also especially close to Shelton, as were public safety officials in Leeds and Irondale.
Shelton’s funeral is set for Friday. Arrangements for Destiny’s service have not yet been announced.
The principal described Shelton as a strong young man and “our absolute biggest #1 Wildcat fan.”
Robinson described Destiny as charismatic and fun-loving, and said she was always friendly to those around her. “She just loved life,’’ she said.
The principal said she learned about Destiny’s death through a phone call not long after the crash. She called the school resource officer to confirm the news was true. “When your phone rings late in the evening, you expect something’s wrong,’’ Robinson said. “But I could not really wrap my head around this news.”
Destiny, she said, was a cheerleader in middle school and was part of tight group of friends. “She was always smiling, happy and laughing,’’ she said.
Shelton and Destiny were in the same group of friends, and photograph of the two together at the 2018 Homecoming game quickly made the rounds on social media. “They were really close buddies,’’ Robinson said. “Our students are very close-knit and are like family. How special to have that picture of them.”
The deaths have hit hard both the faculty and student body at Fultondale High School. These two students we lost were bright, shining starts, wonderful examples of how we should live our lives,’’ Robinson said.
An assembly for students was held first thing Wednesday morning. Several students spoke, and another student led them in prayer.
Fultondale-area churches sent pastor to the school to help counselor talk with, and listen to, the students. Administrators placed posters around the school for students to sign and ribbons were made in the school colors – orange and blue – for them to wear in honor of Destiny and Shelton.
“We don’t have the answers and we’ve told them that,’’ Robinson said. “We’ve been telling them to love each other and support each other and we’re taking it one day at a time.”