just a little reminder for the youngin's here
The 15-year-old Loudoun County girl who died Tuesday after a predawn high-speed chase with sheriff's deputies was traveling 100 mph in the new Volkswagen Jetta her mother had bought to teach her how to drive, officials said yesterday.
Julie Young said she only learned that her daughter had been behind the wheel when sheriff's deputies came to her door just before dawn.
Julie Young, Shelby Huck's mother, and Stacey Cross, her half sister, say it would have been out of character for the 15-year-old to flee the police. (Tracy A. Woodward -- The Washington Post)
"I went into her room, and she was gone," recalled Young, wiping away tears. "She was the sweetest thing you ever met."
Shelby Huck would have turned 16 next month.
Young said her daughter, a sophomore and varsity cheerleader at Loudoun Valley High School, apparently sneaked out of their home in Hamilton to visit an ex-boyfriend she had recently reconciled with. She was on her way home at 4 a.m. when the crash occurred.
Although Young acknowledged that her daughter should not have been driving without a license, she vehemently contested the sheriff department's account that Huck was trying to elude law enforcement. Rather, she characterized Huck as a novice driver who confused the brake pedal and the accelerator and would have been terrified driving on the road alone at night.
Huck did not have a learner's permit, which can be obtained in Virginia at age 15 1/2 and requires supervision. Young said she purchased the Jetta as a second car in part to give driving lessons to Huck, who she said would not have felt comfortable behind the wheel of the family's large SUV. Young said that as far as she knows her daughter had never before been behind the wheel of a car alone.
"She was scared of driving," Young said, her voice full of emotion. "Maybe she thought she was putting on the brakes," instead of accelerating.
"We don't feel she was eluding police," echoed Huck's half sister Stacey Cross, 25. "She had no reason to."
Sheriff's office officials said yesterday that by the time deputies, who were working with radar equipment, caught up with Huck's Jetta on Route 15, she was traveling 80 mph. Cruiser lights and sirens did nothing to slow the speeding vehicle, which accelerated to 100 mph before swerving into an embankment and going airborne, they said. The pursuit lasted less than 90 seconds.
"She could have accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake," said sheriff's spokesman Kraig Troxell. "At this point in the investigation, it's too early to tell." Tests will be conducted to determine whether alcohol was a factor, he said.
Grief was evident yesterday at Loudoun Valley High School, where exams were underway, and many students took time to visit counselors and social workers to talk about Huck's death.
Joyce Phillips, coach of the school's varsity cheerleading squad, took it upon herself Tuesday evening to inform Huck's teammates that she had died.
"We're a family," said Phillips, explaining how Huck, an "extremely quiet" girl with a magnetic smile, was eager to fit in, even changing her hair color to blend in with the other girls on the squad.
On the team, Huck was a "flyer," one of the girls who are lifted high and tossed into the air during routines. Whether in class or during practices, friends said, Huck rarely spoke. When she did, everyone listened, certain she had something important or witty to offer.
"When she'd say more than three words, we'd joke that we'd gotten a few more words out of her," said Joyce Phillips's daughter Katie, 16, who is on the squad. "She wasn't confident all the time, but when she was she just lit up the floor" during routines.
Tammy Pyle, 38, Huck's English teacher, described her as a "sweet, sweet girl" and good student who had recently found her "comfort zone" in the classroom.
Pyle was struggling with the fact that someone as quiet and sweet-natured as Huck -- a student who she said apologized profusely when given a tardy slip for being late -- could have been out late at night driving a family car without a license.
"It strikes me as so out of character," Pyle said. "She's such a good-natured kid. You wonder 'Gosh what happened? Why would she do this?' Then you look at your own youth and think how lucky you were that you got through the things you did."
The 15-year-old Loudoun County girl who died Tuesday after a predawn high-speed chase with sheriff's deputies was traveling 100 mph in the new Volkswagen Jetta her mother had bought to teach her how to drive, officials said yesterday.
Julie Young said she only learned that her daughter had been behind the wheel when sheriff's deputies came to her door just before dawn.
Julie Young, Shelby Huck's mother, and Stacey Cross, her half sister, say it would have been out of character for the 15-year-old to flee the police. (Tracy A. Woodward -- The Washington Post)
"I went into her room, and she was gone," recalled Young, wiping away tears. "She was the sweetest thing you ever met."
Shelby Huck would have turned 16 next month.
Young said her daughter, a sophomore and varsity cheerleader at Loudoun Valley High School, apparently sneaked out of their home in Hamilton to visit an ex-boyfriend she had recently reconciled with. She was on her way home at 4 a.m. when the crash occurred.
Although Young acknowledged that her daughter should not have been driving without a license, she vehemently contested the sheriff department's account that Huck was trying to elude law enforcement. Rather, she characterized Huck as a novice driver who confused the brake pedal and the accelerator and would have been terrified driving on the road alone at night.
Huck did not have a learner's permit, which can be obtained in Virginia at age 15 1/2 and requires supervision. Young said she purchased the Jetta as a second car in part to give driving lessons to Huck, who she said would not have felt comfortable behind the wheel of the family's large SUV. Young said that as far as she knows her daughter had never before been behind the wheel of a car alone.
"She was scared of driving," Young said, her voice full of emotion. "Maybe she thought she was putting on the brakes," instead of accelerating.
"We don't feel she was eluding police," echoed Huck's half sister Stacey Cross, 25. "She had no reason to."
Sheriff's office officials said yesterday that by the time deputies, who were working with radar equipment, caught up with Huck's Jetta on Route 15, she was traveling 80 mph. Cruiser lights and sirens did nothing to slow the speeding vehicle, which accelerated to 100 mph before swerving into an embankment and going airborne, they said. The pursuit lasted less than 90 seconds.
"She could have accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake," said sheriff's spokesman Kraig Troxell. "At this point in the investigation, it's too early to tell." Tests will be conducted to determine whether alcohol was a factor, he said.
Grief was evident yesterday at Loudoun Valley High School, where exams were underway, and many students took time to visit counselors and social workers to talk about Huck's death.
Joyce Phillips, coach of the school's varsity cheerleading squad, took it upon herself Tuesday evening to inform Huck's teammates that she had died.
"We're a family," said Phillips, explaining how Huck, an "extremely quiet" girl with a magnetic smile, was eager to fit in, even changing her hair color to blend in with the other girls on the squad.
On the team, Huck was a "flyer," one of the girls who are lifted high and tossed into the air during routines. Whether in class or during practices, friends said, Huck rarely spoke. When she did, everyone listened, certain she had something important or witty to offer.
"When she'd say more than three words, we'd joke that we'd gotten a few more words out of her," said Joyce Phillips's daughter Katie, 16, who is on the squad. "She wasn't confident all the time, but when she was she just lit up the floor" during routines.
Tammy Pyle, 38, Huck's English teacher, described her as a "sweet, sweet girl" and good student who had recently found her "comfort zone" in the classroom.
Pyle was struggling with the fact that someone as quiet and sweet-natured as Huck -- a student who she said apologized profusely when given a tardy slip for being late -- could have been out late at night driving a family car without a license.
"It strikes me as so out of character," Pyle said. "She's such a good-natured kid. You wonder 'Gosh what happened? Why would she do this?' Then you look at your own youth and think how lucky you were that you got through the things you did."
