Kit Roberts
A 17-year-old girl was killed in a freak car accident when a 'large bird' smashed into the car's windshield.
Abbigail 'Grace' Callaham, 17, and her boyfriend Thomas Kennedy had been driving to a daycare centre to pick up their four-month-old baby after leaving Belton-Honea Path High School in South Carolina.
As the pair drove along, a 'large bird' had appeared out of the woods and smashed into the car's windshield just after 11am on Tuesday (September 24).
The bird was described as being 'possibly a turkey' by coroner Greg Shore, according to WSPA, with the impact causing Kennedy to lose control of the car.
A press release from Shore said that he 'ran off the right side of the highway, where he overcorrected, crossed the center line and hit a tree on the left side of the roadway', as per The Daily Mail.
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Callaham had not been wearing a seat belt at the time and was pinned to her seat by the tree, officials also said.
She was declared dead at the scene, while Kennedy was rushed to hospital to receive treatment for several traumatic injuries.
Shore said: "It's just a tragedy. We are all heartbroken over the circumstances."
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Speaking to the local news station after the accident, he added: "It just breaks our hearts to see them suffering like that."
He went on to say that Callahan's father had been left 'grief stricken' by the loss of his daughter.
Belton-Honea Path High School is a part of Anderson School District Two, where Callaham was a junior and Kennedy is a senior.
They said that the school will be offering grief counselling to students and staff.
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Writing on Facebook, the school district said in a statement: "It is with great sadness that we inform our ASD2 family of the death of 11th grade student Abbigail 'Grace' Callaham. Grace was involved in a vehicle accident this morning after leaving BHP.
"We will have extra counselors at BHP to provide grief support to students and staff.
"Please keep Grace's family in your thoughts and prayers as they navigate through this difficult time."
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The district added that it also has plans to host an event which will 'lift up prayers for both of these students and their families.'
Speaking to Fox Carolina, Superintendant Jason Johns said: "We talk a whole bunch at Anderson District Two that we are a family, so it's times like this that we can come together, we can remind each other that this is a support system, love on each other and just be there for each other."