Friday accident leaves community shaken

The school week here got off to a somber start on Monday with students at Redemptorist Catholic School and Crowley High School still reeling from the violent accident Friday that took the life of 13-year-old Halle McKay Thompson and left Brooke Habetz, 16, in critical condition.
Classes at Redemptorist were closed Monday for those wishing to attend funeral services for Thompson.
The eighth grader was described as an active student who was a four-year member of the school’s volleyball team, a member of the Beta Club and the treasurer of the school’s student council.
“She was sweet, loving, kind and so happy ... just a top notch personality,” said Redemptorist School Principal Louis Kramer. “She was short in stature but, like I told the students, she made up for it with a large personality.”
Widely-attended funeral services for Thompson were held at 1 p.m. Monday at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church.
At Crowley High School at 7 a.m. Monday, a “meet me at the pole” prayer session, organized by CHS student Lily Smith, was held to show support for Habetz and her family.
One of the people present was Hunter Thompson, Halle’s brother.
As was the case with Halle Thompson, Crowley High Principal Perry Myles had nothing but complimentary words when describing Habetz.
“She is a fine young lady, very welcoming, and liked by everybody,” he said. “She is a very good student and she exemplified school spirit.”
The Habetz family received some good news Monday morning when Brooke opened her eyes and responded to questions by her mother by squeezing her hand.
Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Maxine Trahan has been very busy in recent months organizing the fourth installment of the anti-drinking/distracted driving film CHOICES.
Habetz, who investigators said was not wearing her seat belt at the time of the accident, was to be one of the students participating in the film’s production. After Friday’s tragedy, Trahan said there will be a change in the film’s future productions.
“We are going to begin educating the students on seat belt safety,” Trahan said.