The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating whether the teen who died after crashing her car into a tree was texting and driving.

  • Darian Dearborn, 17, crashed into a tree in Seville
  • She was killled, passenger suffered head injuries
  • FHP is trying to determine if the teen was texting and driving

Mourners visited the makeshift memorial at the base of the tree in Seville where Darian Dearborn, 17, and her 14-year-old passenger crashed.

One of those mourners was 74-year-old Sundown Lipscomb who placed flowers at the memorial Dearborn.

Lipscomb remembers the teen riding her horse near her house.

“Its hitting everybody in the community because it’s just a child,” said Lipscomb.

Fellow students took time from school to visit the memorial and grieve.

Dearborn was a student at Taylor Middle High School in Pierson.

On Wednesday afternoon, Dearborn and the passenger were driving down Raulerson road when the 17-year-old lost control slamming into the tree.

Dearborn died, the 14-year-old suffered head injuries and was taken to Arnold Palmer hospital in Orlando.

The 14-year-old was released from the hospital and also visited the memorial before going home.

The school district provided grief counselors to help students cope with the loss of one of their own.

“You’ve lost a friend, you’ve lost someone you know that you saw everyday in the hallways. So it is, its really heartbreaking,” added Lipscomb.

The Law enforcement community is also grieving the loss.

The 17 year old was the daughter of sheriff’s deputy, Dennis Dearborn.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers have taken over the investigation.

A spokesperson for that agency says neither Dearborn or the 14 year old were impaired.

But the spokesperson says troopers were told at the scene of the crash,  and are looking at the possibility Dearborn may have been texting before the crash.

Lipscomb has a message for all drivers, not just teenagers.

“Put your phone down when you get in the vehicle. turn it off,” said Lipscomb.

Volusia County Sheriff released a statement regarding the crash.

“The Dearborn family is our family, and when a tragedy like this affects one of our own, we have to pull together and show them we’re here to carry them through,” said Sheriff Chitwood.