Published 3:35 pm Monday, April 13, 2015

Decatur High School counselors were on hand today to help students grieving the death of a junior who died in an unexplained car accident on Friday.

Heidy Morales, 18, drove her SUV through a guardrail and off the L Street overpass into rush hour traffic on Interstate 5 near the Tacoma Dome on Friday.

The crash killed Morales but her vehicle did not hit any other cars.

“Our hearts go out to the family and to all who are suffering with this loss,” said Decatur Principal David Bowers in a phone message the district sent out to Decatur families on Saturday notifying them of Morales’s death. “As Gators we stand together, mourn together and comfort one another through this difficult time.”

The district’s crisis response team was at Decatur today and throughout the week, providing grief counseling for students at the school library, said Federal Way Public Schools spokeswoman Ann Cook.

“It’s always difficult, it’s always hard and this [incident] has been so high profile,” said Cook, who was at the school Monday morning and noted some students came to the library to speak with counselors.

She said Decatur teachers personally called family members over the weekend, who were “very devastated.”

“Staff and the principal are reaching out to the family to provide whatever assistance they can,” Cook added. “The school will monitor and support kids as needed throughout the week.”

The car accident on Friday forced the closure of all but one lane on I-5, and caused a 12-mile backup from South 288th Street in Federal Way to the Tacoma Dome, said Washington State Department of Transportation officials.

Tacoma police were unclear what caused Morales to swerve off the overpass. According to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office, her cause of death was due to multiple blunt force and crush injuries.

Known as a “delight” to Decatur teachers and students, Morales was a student in the Federal Way Public Schools since the first grade, Cook said. She attended Decatur for the last year-and-a-half and, prior to that, was enrolled at Federal Way High School. She also attended the Washington Youth Academy in Bremerton during her first semester this year.

“Heidy started her sophomore year at Lincoln High School in Tacoma and transferred to us during her sophomore year,” said Rex Tucker, assistant principal at Decatur. “She worked very hard and was willing to do anything she could to graduate on time, even though Decatur was her third school in a year-and-a-half because her parents were moving around for jobs.”

Tucker said Morales’s parents were supportive of her when she came to Decatur and they spoke with him about how Morales could catch up on credits. This is why she attended the Washington Youth Academy, where she was able to obtain several extra credits in one semester.

“She did really well there,” Tucker noted, adding that Morales was a “fighter” and “tenacious.” “She was never afraid to do the extra work to try and stay caught up on credits to graduate on time because she had plans after high school.”

Morales planned to participate in the Running Start program her senior year at a community college and eventually transfer to a four-year college after high school.

Principal David Brower and Tucker met with the school’s yearbook class during first period on Monday to speak with them about their fellow classmate, who was enrolled in the class. The students, mostly juniors, spoke about potentially creating a memorial page for Morales in this year’s yearbook, Tucker said.

The school will also have a banner available for students to sign and write comments in Morales’s memory to her family.

Tucker added that this is another tough year for Decatur Gators, as this is the second year in a row that they’ve lost a student mid-year. Last year, senior Dom Cooks died of brain cancer.

Brower said news of this kind can affect students in a variety of ways, “ranging from disbelief, to anger, to deep sorrow.”

He encourages parents to speak to their students and watch for signs that they may need additional support in understanding this loss. Parents who feel their students would benefit from extra support can call Decatur’s main office at 253-945-5200.

Heidy Morales