Police believe teen killed in crash was texting while driving

WEST MICHIGAN (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – Police say it was texting while driving that led to a fatal crash involving a West Michigan teen.

17-year-old Laurie Cartwright died Friday on a Michigan highway.

On Facebook, there's a memorial page dedicated to Cartwright, one that has garnered dozens of messages about the teen who attended Gull Lake Schools and did so much for her friends and community.

"She was one of those people that was just nice to everybody," said Natalie Patterson, a friend of Cartwright, "she was welcoming to everybody."

When Cartwright attended Gull Lake Schools, she was a bright force, so the somber air at her high school on Monday was a total contrast as students tried to come to terms with her death.

Cartwright was part of the class of 2009, and her principal and school's superintendent saw a bright future for her. The news that she died in an accident near Jackson came as a shock.

"She was a great student here," said Jim Corstange, principal of Gull Lake High School, "one of the many that we have here, and it's always a tragedy when we lose a former student or a current student. This is a tragic thing for those that are very close to her, especially in our band and performing arts where she was very involved."

After graduating from Gull Lake High School, Cartwright started college at Western Michigan University. According to friends, Cartwright was on her way to Ann Arbor on Friday evening, driving on I-94.

Blackman Township Public Safety says Cartwright failed to slow down for a traffic backup that grew after an earlier accident. They say Cartwright may have been texting before she crashed into a semi.

"It's just another strong reminder, especially with younger drivers, inexperienced," said Sgt. Richard Wright of Blackman Township Public Safety, "they need to pay attention. They can't be using their cell phone, they can't be texting."

However, Cartwright's friends insist that she was too responsible to text while driving. Regardless of the circumstances, they are now left with a hole where Cartwright once ways.

"It's just hard, and I didn't want to believe it," said Bryan Knickerbocker. "There's no feeling to describe how something like this could happen."

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Visitation for Laurie Cartwright is scheduled for Wednesday for 2:00 to 4:00 and 6:00 to 8:00. Cartwright's funeral is scheduled for Thursday, 11:00 am at Farley Estes and Dowdle Funeral Home in Richland at 9170 East D. Avenue.

Instead of flowers, Cartwright's family is asking people to make a donation to the Gull Lake Community Foundation. That money will go to the programs that Laurie took part in, the Performing Arts Group and the high-school band at Gull Lake High School.

The family also hopes to set up a scholarship fund to make sure that future generations who take part in the Performing Arts Group at Gull Lake High School will be able to make trips with the troupe. Cartwright went on such trips and was very fond of them, so her family felt it would be an appropriate thing to do to help others go on the same trips.

The facebook memorial page for Cartwright can be found here.