TULSA, Okla — Two days after tragedy struck several Webster High School students, one family is asking for help with funeral expenses after losing their daughter, Aleena King.
She passed away in a car crash on the Turner Turnpike coming back from a student council convention.
Local News
Webster High School Student killed in highway accident mourned
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Her family and friends say she was a bright light who was proud of her culture and heritage and she’ll be greatly missed.
While her parents aren’t ready for interviews at the moment, they sent out a statement reading in part: “Aleena was the heart of our family. She was our baby, our only girl, and little sister to her brother Jayden. She was the outgoing one, the one who brought everyone together. She was our glue, and that is what makes losing her so hard.”
Full statement:
"Aleena was the heart of our family. She was our baby, our only girl, and little sister to her brother Jayden. She was the outgoing one, the one who brought everyone together. She was our glue, and that is what makes losing her so hard.
Aleena was proudly CHamoru, Pacific Islander, and a member of the Choctaw Nation. Before Webster High School, she attended Jones Academy in Hartshorne. Everywhere she went, she found her people and made room for everyone else.
She was hilarious, with a laugh you could hear across the room and couldn’t help but join. She was so genuinely herself that the people around her felt free to be themselves too. People opened up to her. She was easy to talk to, caring, and fiercely loyal to her family, her friends, and her boyfriend. She was also a typical teenager who loved goofing around with her friends, eating Pacific Islander food (especially musubi), and never said no to a good boba.
Aleena was a leader in her community. She served on student council, volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters, was co-vice president of the Pacific Island Club at Webster, and loved sharing hula and her culture with anyone who wanted to learn.
In CHamoru culture, there is a value called inafa’maolek. It means “to make good with one another”: caring for your community so that everyone rises together. Aleena didn’t just know that word. She lived it."
Her family encourages the community to come out and honor Aleena’s memory by meeting on November 20 to make leis, honoring her heritage. They say “in Polynesian tradition, making a lei lets you put your love and intention into something you give.”
Aleena was in the car with several other students, one of whom knew students Jordyn Heitman and Mikaela Hardesty.
It was just so weird," said Hardesty. "My heart dropped the second that I realized that I did have a friend in it.”
“My main thought was, this isn't real, this didn't happen," said Heitman. "This is something that we see in other states, not in Oklahoma, not with people that we know and that we just talked to a few hours ago.”
Both girls send their condolences and best wishes to everyone at Webster.
The accident has drawn statewide attention.
Representative Jim Shaw even sent out a statement, saying he would like to look into the history of the turnpike, as this hasn’t been the first time traffic safety concerns have risen in this area, reading in part:
"This is an area that sees significant traffic, including commercial trucks and families traveling across our state, and we need to take a hard look at whether current safety measures are doing enough to protect motorists"... "We cannot change what happened Monday, but we can look for ways to prevent another family from experiencing this kind of heartbreak. Every Oklahoman should be able to travel our roads with confidence that their safety is a priority."
2 News reached out to his team and received a response from him saying that he plans to discuss the issue with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, DPS and other organizations. He wants to hold off on interviews until he has more information.
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