Milton High student killed in crash

SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Florida (WALA) - The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating an accident that killed two local teenagers. Brandi Bartholomew, a 15-year-old from Milton, and Zoe Chandler, an 18-year-old from Holt, were killed in the Tuesday night crash. No one in the vehicle was wearing a seat belt.

State troopers were still gathering information Wednesday at the scene where a Ford Ranger driven by Nadja Chandler crashed Tuesday night. Troopers said Chandler was driving down Munson Highway when she lost control of the vehicle on the side of the road and slammed into the concrete culvert. The vehicle then rolled over onto the driver's side.

Two teenagers were pronounced dead at the scene, and Chandler was flown to Sacred Heart Hospital with minor injuries.

Santa Rosa school officials found out about the accident Wednesday morning.

"How are we going to deal, and how are we going to take care of these kids when they get to school today? That was the first thing on my mind, is what do we need to do to take care of these kids?" Milton High School principal Michael Thorpe said.

Santa Rosa County Assistant Superintendent Bill Emerson knows this time will be tough on students.

"It's a hard thing; it doesn't matter whether you're 16, or 46, like me,” Emerson said. “That's a hard thing to deal with, when somebody that you think a lot of passes away, or even somebody that you are just acquainted with passes away."

Thorpe said Bartholomew was a freshman at Milton High School.

"We lost one of the Panther family, and that's difficult for our campus,” Thorpe said.

The school district sent counselors to the school to help everyone with the process.

"We are going to offer the grief counseling, absolutely, as long as we need to offer it, as many days as we need to do this. We're going to be here for our student body, and help our students and our teachers, in this process,” Thorpe said.

Emerson agrees that students need support in times like these.

"Kids need to grieve together,” Emerson said. “A lot of times they need to be able to express what they need to their friends, and see what other people are feeling."

Tuesday’s crash comes just a month after a Milton High School senior was killed in a hit-and-run accident.

The investigation is on-going.