Police say 16-year-old Friendswood High School student Brittany Findley died in a single car accident on FM 528 at Moore Road just before 10am.
Findley was a 10th grader Friendswood High School. By early afternoon, counselors started meeting with grieving students and staff.
"We spent every day with her girl," said one friend.
As a teenager, life is forever and you are ruled by your dreams.
"She went to state, then nationals, and was going to go to the Junior Olympics. That was her goal," said friend Krista Castner.
For Findley, a competitive weight lifter, those ambitions abruptly ended.
"I didn't realize how young she was, and that's even harder," said good Samaritan Sandy Sims.
Shortly before 10am, Sims and her husband, Danny, were leading the Texas Independence trail riders. They were in front of the group when they say they saw Findley lose control, pass in front of traffic from the middle lane and then crash into a utility pole.
"I remember seeing the lights coming down," Sims said.
The couple, other trail riders and passersby tried desperately to save the young girl, who was trapped inside her burning car. Sims cradled her head while her husband dialed 911.
"I felt for a pulse. She still had a faint one, but she still had one," she said.
Findley was rushed to Clear Lake Hospital but died from her injuries. She left behind loving friends, who say her dreams live on in their hearts.
"Any time she came to see us, she made us happy," said Castner.
"She just wanted to put a smile on everyone else's face; that's all she cared about," said friend Madison Robinson.
Her friends told us they don't know where Findley was coming from or headed when she crashed. They knew something was wrong when she didn't visit them between classes like she does every day.
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