Ava Wetzel was just 16. She drove her 2015 Lexus north on U.S. Highway 87 early Sunday. The car left the road for reasons no one knows yet. It went into the grass near Chihuahua Street in the 12000 block.
The Lexus hit the brick Welcome to La Vernia sign. The vehicle rolled over. Then it caught fire. Ava was the only one inside. She was pronounced dead right there at the scene.
Friends and local folks said Ava went to La Vernia High School. She had moved here not long ago from Corpus Christi. Sunday morning before 4 a.m. turned out to be her last drive.
Police Chief Donal Keil reached out to the school district right away. Classes start back up Monday. The district is setting up grief counseling for students and staff who knew her.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is handling the full investigation. They have not said what made the car leave the roadway. No other details have come out so far.
People who live along that stretch of highway say the welcome sign has stood there for years. Now it sits damaged after the crash that took Ava’s life. The fire left marks on the grass and the brick.
Ava’s sudden death hit the small town hard. One minute she was a high school student starting a new chapter in La Vernia. The next she was gone after her SUV overturned on the edge of town.
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