“Shelby, Paxton and Chase,” friends and family spoke the names of the three teens who died in last Saturday’s crash north of Emporia during a second candlelight vigil at Jones Park Friday evening.
During Friday’s time of remembrance and mourning, 17-year-old Shelby Phoenix’s grandmother Loretta Phoenix spoke to all in attendance and explained the importance of sharing what is on our hearts during a time of tragedy.
Shelby’s mother Heather Phoenix also spoke Friday and thanked the Emporia community for its outpouring of compassion over the past week.
Shelby Phoenix as well as fellow 17-year-old Chase Luby and her brother 13-year-old Paxton Luby died last Saturday after a car driven by Chase Luby went off the road into the Cottonwood River upside down. The car was fully submerged when authorities arrived and all inside had perished.
One teenager in the car, Ashley Edwards, survived the accident.
At this time, Emporia’s business community is reaching out to help the families of three teenagers killed in Saturday’s wreck just south of town.
Through the end of May, Kari’s Diamonds and Bridal is giving all the proceeds of its watch battery sales to the families of Chase and Paxton Luby and Shelby Phoenix. Brian Filinger (FILL-in-grr) of Farm Bureau Financial Services has announced he will match that amount.
This comes on top of two established ways for residents to help the families. A fund remains active at Emporia State Federal Credit Union for the Luby family and a GoFundMe page is still collecting donations for Phoenix.
