17-year-old mourned after fatal crash near Manvel

MANVEL, TX (KTRK) -- A 17-year-old girl is dead after a crash Tuesday evening near Manvel, according to police.

Imani Richard, a student at Madison High School, was in the back seat of her friend's car, headed home, when her friend's car was crushed by another vehicle.

"I wish anything that would bring my little sister back would've happened," said Richard's sister Princess Jeanmard.

The accident happened last night on Highway 288 northbound at Croix Road.

Police say Richard and 5 other friends were in a Pontiac, driving to the beach on 288 when they had car trouble and then turned back around to go home.

That's when police say the Pontiac stalled and stop running on Highway 288. The teen driver may have been confused by the single stripe on the roadway.

"There's all kinds of indications that make it look like that could be an improved emergency shoulder, when it's actually a moving lane of traffic." said Manvel Police Chief Keith Traylor.

A Subaru driver didn't seen them and struck that Pontiac full of teenagers, injuring five of them and killing Richard.

Taylor said he's reached out to TXDOT to change the roadway striping.

"I think they need to come out and correct the striping on the road," said Traylor.

A Houston Independent School District spokeswoman told Eyewitness News she was about to enter the 11th grade at Madison High.

"She's just always been the type of person to make you laugh, and make you cry, make you man make you happy, make you sad," said Jeanmard.

Manvel police say some of the teens were not wearing seat belts because four of them were in the back seat of the vehicle.

The driver of the Subaru was not critically injured. No charges are expected to be filed in the crash.