A teen girl from Chicago tragically died in a car crash just hours after her senior prom. 18-year-old Tom’Mya Lyons passed away early Sunday morning in a single-vehicle wreck. This was after her 16-year-old boyfriend, who was the driver, crashed on a ramp heading to I94.
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“It’s all surreal,” Tom’Mya’s stepfather Charles Parker said to NBC5. “I can’t believe that we sent her off and celebrating her, getting ready to graduate and now we’re celebrating her leaving the Earth.” He then described the grim situation as a “hard pill to swallow.”
Teen Girl Dies In Car Crash Hours After Senior Prom
Tom’Mya was just weeks away from her high school graduation when this tragedy struck. She had just attended her senior prom at the Field Museum just hours before. Her boyfriend later crashed their vehicle on the Sibley Boulevard ramp at 4:31 AM, and most damage happened on the passenger side.
Video footage from the scene showed a shattered back window and heavy damage on Tom’Mya’s side. Meanwhile, the 16-year-old boyfriend survived the crash without any injuries.
“He was cut off trying to get off expressway and lost control,” Parker continued. “I don’t have full details.” According to the outlet, the police have yet to confirm details on how the car wreck happened.
Parker recalled how excited his teen stepdaughter was for prom, and how much effort she put into planning her dress. “I remember when her and her mom were getting everything together – I’m a man, so I don’t know much about that type of stuff – but the planning process and everything that they were doing to get prepared for the prom and picking out the colors, the way the dress was designed, I believe everything was Tom Mya’s idea.”
The stepfather also spoke about Tom’Mya’s love of music and her ideas for a future career. “She wanted to be a DJ. She loved music,” he said. He also said, “She was quiet, but at the same time, she was ambitious. Just to see how she was interacting with that and some of my friends who are DJs, it’s hard. I can’t believe it.”
Tom’Mya wasn’t only interested in music, but beauty as well. She was planning to go to cosmetology school after graduation. Friends close to Tom’Mya remembered her as a “jack of all trades” and someone who “always had a smile on her face.”
Her first friend, Jeda McClendon, described her as a “joyful girl.” Another friend, Neveani Bell, said Tom’Mya had a “beautiful soul.”