GARLAND COUNTY, Ark. — Members of the Garland County community have been leaning on each other for support after a tragic weekend.
Staff members in the Jessieville and Mountain Pine school districts said they are grieving after car wrecks injured multiple students and killed another.
"Anytime you lose a child, it's a tragic loss for everyone," said Lisa Engebretson, principal of Mountain Pine Elementary School.
Engebretson said that the school community and all of Garland County are in mourning after losing first grader, Bridgette Shaffer.
She died in a car crash on Saturday, which also killed her mother and two others.
The following day, Sunday, September 10, would have been her 7th birthday.
"She was supposed to have a party Sunday, which of course got canceled. So we had a birthday party for her," Engebretson said.
During the party held in her honor, they also played some of her favorite games.
"She would call a friend and tell him every day how far she got. So we did a monkey bar challenge, where all the kids went out and tried to cross the monkey bars in her honor," she described.
On Tuesday, schools in the area wore red to show support for Mountain Pine.
Throughout the week they'll wear different colors to do the same for the other schools going through tough times.
"I know that one school, in particular, lost a teacher. One school had an accident where four students were hurt, some in critical condition, and then we had our accident all over the weekend," Engebretson explained.
Jamie Saveall, athletic director and assistant principal for the Jessieville School District, said that four football players are recovering from injuries after they were in a car crash last weekend.
"The kids last few days here at school, it's been a little, you know, their hearts and prayers are going out to those families and those kids and, and, but it's, you know, the community itself, the outpouring of love and support has been just tremendous," Saveall said.
He said the support has made it a little bit easier to get through this hard time.
"That's the thing that like, makes this area of our state. Such a special place. And, you know, because people care about people here. And that's what's important," he explained.
Both schools also have counselors available for any students who may need them.