A teenage girl died while cycling on a major street in coastal Florida, according to the police. Kendra Ahrens, 15, was hit by a US Mail Carrier box truck on Santa Barbara Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon while she was biking home from her job at a local waterpark. Her parents shared that she had been a varsity cheerleader at Mariner High.
Kendra was also working at Sun Splash Family Waterpark just for the summer, her family said as they mourned the tragic death of the teen. The accident took place on a section of street near Mid Cape Terrace in Cape Coral, close to where the girl worked and lived.
Family and Friends Devastated
Friends remember her as "a sweet and bubbly girl" whose "life was cut short too soon," noting that she "was loved by so many people." "We played chess after wrestling and cheer practice and she was so frustrated because she didn't understand how to play," wrote one friend on the teen's online obituary.
The friend shared an impromptu photo and added: "She was mad at me because I wouldn't stop taking pictures of her.
"[B]ut her birthday was so close and [I] needed pictures to post."
Another friend added a video of the pair, and remembered, "[E]verytime we would have a sleepover at my house we would always go in the hot tub.
"[I]t was like our routine thing to do."
Along with a photo of the deceased sitting at a restaurant, another friend reminisced: "[O]ur first dinner together."
"[K]endra being so happy because she got to spoil me."
Others recalled the girl's generosity as they paid tribute, while the cause of the crash that took her life is still being investigated. The mail truck remained at the scene.
Completely Unexpected
Witnesses who were at Tropical Breeze Fun Park during the crash provided some details, telling WINK-TV how the collision might have happened. "We had one three-person group here at the time of the incident,' explained staffer Joey Milligan of a group of mini-golfers.
"They didn't see anything, but they definitely heard brakes, crash, and they wondered what was up," he said.
"They didn't hear any of the sirens yet because it was still kind of fresh. It just happened."
The girl's parents confirmed that Ahrens had been a varsity cheerleader at Cape Coral High School and was heading home when she was struck.
After the crash, news crews took images of the mail carrier truck stopped and surrounded by police tape, along with Ahrens' damaged mountain bike still on the pavement.
A memorial has since appeared along the roadway where the accident occurred, while authorities have yet to determine fault.
The truck driver's identity has not been released.
The Cape Coral Police Department is investigating the collision. One local speculated that Ahrens may have been hit as she turned onto Santa Barbara, one of the area's busiest streets.
