{"id":482903,"date":"2026-11-01T04:04:40","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T04:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/482903\/"},"modified":"2026-11-01T04:04:40","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T04:04:40","slug":"memorial-held-for-2-recent-smu-grads-hit-killed-by-speeding-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/482903\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorial held for 2 recent SMU grads hit, killed by speeding driver"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/h9l7dvjb253ho1yr.jpg\" alt=\"Friends, family remember recent SMU grads killed in crash\" class=\"sr-only\" data-v-892ef6a8=\"\"\/>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/h9l7dvjb253ho1yr.jpg\" alt=\"Friends, family remember recent SMU grads killed in crash\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"vod-poster-image vod-poster-image--embedded\" data-v-fab1b86c=\"\"\/>     <\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">DALLAS &#8211; Two recent SMU graduates who were killed in a crash near White Rock Lake are being remembered not just for the lives they lived, but the art they created.<\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"KDFW\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">What we know:<\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">Friends and family gathered inside a theater on Saturday night, where they lived so much of their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">&#8220;I feel like it was so obvious that it needed to be in a theater, like give them one last show,&#8221; said Moore White, a friend of the graduates.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">Julian Harris and Madison Duren were both 22 and shared a love for the stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">&#8220;And they were just beautiful people, talented, of course, but so kind. And in this business, talent will get you places, but kindness will keep you in the room,&#8221; said Harper Caroline Lee, another friend.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> The details of the crash\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"KDFW\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">The backstory:<\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">On October 6, the two were leaving their apartment near White Rock Lake. Harris was driving and Duren was in the passenger seat.<\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">As Harris turned left from Knob Oak Drive onto Garland Road, police say another driver hit their car.<\/p>\n<p>Oct. 6 Garland Road crash <\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">Initially there were no charges, but police later arrested 22-year-old Aldrea Rogers. According to a police affidavit, her speed had reached 82 miles per hour. The speed limit was 35.<\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">Harris died at the scene and Duren died later at the hospital.<\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">Rogers and her two children who were in the car with her survived. She has since been charged with two counts of manslaughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/6451b80d-aldrea-rogers-mug.png\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" width=\"932\" height=\"524\" data-v-1fc0918c=\"\"\/>  <\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">She remains in the Dallas County Jail and her bond has been set at half a million dollars.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">Police say that a third vehicle involved in the crash left before police could arrive.<\/p>\n<p> Friends trying to come to grips with loss\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"KDFW\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">What they&#8217;re saying:<\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">For the people who knew Duren and Harris, the loss is still hard to believe.<\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">&#8220;I&#8217;m currently in a show that Maddie was in when she passed away,&#8221; Lee said. &#8220;We postponed the opening and then opened the show in her honor. And in a better world, she would have been backstage with me praying over the show opening night, and Julian would have been in the audience.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Madi Duren and Julian Harris (CTSY: Teatro Dallas) <\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">But inside the Greer Garson Theatre, filled with tears and laughter, their friends remembered more than how they died. They remembered how they made others feel.<\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">&#8220;Unstoppable,&#8221; White said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">As for the artists who shared a stage with them, they\u2019ll carry them with them in every performance.<\/p>\n<p data-v-a97c31c4=\"\">&#8220;I truly believe that we will all see each other one day, but I&#8217;ll miss them until then,&#8221; Lee said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"group-source-paragraph\" data-v-4fbf7207=\"\">The Source: The information in this article was reported by Fox 4&#8217;s Vania Castillo.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox4news.com\/tag\/news\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-a97c31c4=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">News<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox4news.com\/tag\/us\/tx\/dallas-county\/dallas\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-a97c31c4=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dallas<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox4news.com\/tag\/crime-publicsafety\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-a97c31c4=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Crime and Public Safety<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DALLAS &#8211; Two recent SMU graduates who were killed in a crash near White Rock Lake are being&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1046,102,581,104,103,223,216,393],"class_list":["post-482903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-crime-publicsafety","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-county","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-news","tag-tx","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}