LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – O\u2019Donnell ISD is giving its students support and space to grieve after a high school senior died in a crash over the weekend.<\/p>\n
A wrong-way driver hit the car Ariel Santos, 17, was riding in head-on between Tahoka and Post Saturday night. The crash<\/a> also injured both drivers and two other teen passengers.<\/p>\n Superintendent Blake Nichols said her classmates and teachers will miss Santos\u2019 smile the most.<\/p>\n \u201cJust a genuinely sweet kid. Always had a smile on her face. Light up the room when she walked in. Just a genuinely nice kid,\u201d Nichols said.<\/p>\n A GoFundMe<\/a> to support her family says she and three other girls were on their way home from the rodeo in Ralls when they were hit head-on.<\/p>\n Nichols said tragedies like this one hit everyone in a small town like O\u2019Donnell.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great place, small community, very tight-knit. If one of us is hurting, we\u2019re all hurting. And that\u2019s one thing I love about O\u2019Donnell. They come together for anybody who needs it,\u201d Nichols said.<\/p>\n He said teachers are always there for their kids but have been working hard the last few days to make sure they have the support they need to grieve. Counselors from the service center in Lubbock are also on campus to provide support.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just make sure you\u2019re checking on all the kids, you know, and that happens almost daily anyway because we\u2019re so small and it\u2019s such a close-knit community school. Just checking on the kids. Be there for the kids. Ask them if they need anything. Do whatever you can to help them,\u201d Nichols said.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first interview like this Nichols has been a part of. Another high school senior, Conlin Small, died in a crash in 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to tell people you love them. You never know,\u201d Nichols said.<\/p>\n