Two Garland County school districts are coping with the loss of a classmate and the injuries of others in two separate wrecks over the weekend.
A four-vehicle crash on U.S. 70 East claimed the lives of four people, including a Mountain Pine student, Saturday afternoon, according to an Arkansas Department of Public Safety preliminary fatal crash summary and a school official on Monday.
In a separate incident Saturday, four students on the Jessieville School District football team were involved in a collision with another vehicle late at night, according to Melissa Speers, Jessieville School District superintendent.
In the fatal wreck, Linda Godwin, 67, of Royal was westbound on U.S. 70 East on Saturday and swerved to avoid a collision with an eastbound 2020 Hyundai driven by Andres Gonzalez, 43, of Glenwood. The Hyundai had veered into Godwin's lane, causing her vehicle to strike a 2015 Chevrolet that was traveling westbound parallel to her vehicle. Godwin and two passengers in her vehicle, Rebekah Shaffer, 35, of Royal and her daughter, Bridgette Shaffer, were killed in the collision.
(The preliminary crash summary gave Rebekah Shaffer's name as Schaffer; the Piney Fire Department said Shaffer is the correct spelling.)
Julieanna Gonzalez, 57, of Glenwood, a passenger in Gonzalez's vehicle, was also killed. Gonzalez was injured and airlifted to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.
Linda Godwin and Rebekah Shaffer are the wives of Piney Fire Department firefighters/EMS Mark Godwin and Mike Shaffer, respectively. Bridgette is the Shaffers' daughter.
According to a GoFundMe page set up by the fire department for funeral expenses for Rebecca and Bridgette Shaffer, Rebecca worked for Startek in Hot Springs and taught gymnastics on the weekends at Hot Springs Gymnastics, while Bridgette attended first grade at Mountain Pine School.
A second GoFundMe set up by the department for Linda Godwin said she worked for New Home Missionary Baptist Church and was "very dedicated and passionate about serving the Lord."
Piney firefighter/EMS Carla Woods said Monday that Linda Godwin is her mother's "best friend and my father's her husband's best friend. She leads Bible school at Missionary Baptist Church in Royal, she runs a Sunday school class for the kids, she plays the organ during services at church. That's just her community impact.
"She was a friend to everyone, she always made everyone laugh ... her and Rebekah took up really quickly and became the best of friends ... Rebekah helped with children's church with Linda ... she was an amazing wife and supporter ... completely put herself second to (Mike) and that baby," Woods said.
"Bridgette went to Mountain Pine school, and she was on the cheering team and softball, just a really active little girl. My favorite thing about Bridgette was she played in the dirt, she was a full tomboy at heart but she always had on her Sunday best ... a little Sunday dress. Rebekah and Bridgette wore big smiles, huge smiles," she said.
On the day of the wreck, Godwin, Rebekah Shaffer and her daughter were on their way to Searcy, where Rebekah Shaffer was going to participate in her first fashion show, appearing on stage.
"Our fire department is a big family and everybody lost three loved ones on that day," she said.
"Linda always talked about how she knows that God went ahead and prepared a place for her, and now they're in it. So, we're just jealous that they got to get there first and enjoy it before us. I guarantee that the only message that they would want to come from this is make sure that you're prepared so you can be there with them," she said.
On Monday, students at Mountain Pine School District released balloons in memory of Bridgette Shaffer. Sunday was Bridgette's birthday, said Sheila Gadberry, Mountain Pine School District public relations coordinator.
"There were several students scheduled to go to a birthday party for her, so they kind of held a birthday celebration/life celebration [Monday] morning in her first-grade classroom. They do have a plan to do a memorial at the rock garden (in Mountain Pine) that our high school built last year. From what I understand people are bringing flowers and memorial rocks to the rock garden there," Gadberry said.
On Monday morning, three of the Jessieville students were still in Arkansas Children's Hospital, while one was released.
At 2 p.m. Sunday, the school district opened up its football field for students, parents and faculty to hold a prayer vigil and on Monday, Jessieville students and faculty wore blue in support of the injured students and their families, Speers said.
"On behalf of the families, we ask that people continue to pray," she said.