Family and friends gather to remember teen girl killed in weekend accident

PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- Over the weekend, a crash took the life of a teenage girl and sent several other teens to the hospital. On Monday night, friends gathered for a vigil to remember the life of Ella Thomas.

Ella was supposed to start high school in about two weeks. Instead, family and friends gathered on Thunderbird and 51st Avenue to remember a life gone too soon.

"She was so loved by everyone," said Shauna Bradley, who watched Ella grow up.

"She played volleyball, basketball, loved going to the shooting-range, shoot guns, did jujitsu. Active social girl with an amazing family," said Bradley.

Ella's life cut short after the car she was in crashed into a garbage truck near 51st and Thunderbird. Several other teens were in the car and were seriously hurt. The garbage truck driver was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Police say speed and failure to yield may be contributing factors to this collision.

"Every morning, as a parent, you think a lot about your kids future," said Bradley. "Ella was the baby of the family. She has two older sisters and an older brother. You think about her graduation from high school someday, think about her getting married and having children of her own someday. It's just heartbreaking that her family will never have these things with her."

The investigation remains ongoing.