Eighteen-year-old Frances Fortner was killed in a car accident on Ridgewood Road and Venetian Way Thursday afternoon. Jackson Police say it appears the car hit an obstruction in the road, then flipped.
The Headmaster of Jackson Academy informed the student body via an e-mail. The senior was on her way to graduation practice at Christ United Methodist Church.
“It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the loss of one of our Jackson Academy senior students, Frances Anne Fortner, who was to graduate Friday evening. News like this breaks our hearts, and our entire community of students, educators, and families, is grieving along with her family at this terrible loss.”
Jack Milne
Head of School
Jackson Police tweeted news of the wreck. And news of the tragedy went viral soon afterwards.
WJTV has reported on numerous potholes on Ridgewood and in the area of Parham Bridges. Infrastructure issues are a chronic safety concern both in this area and around the Metro.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba issued a statement:
“I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of Miss Frances Fortner. My sincere thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and classmates of this young lady whose life was taken too soon. We are conducting a full investigation of the accident. More information will become available pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Fortner is the only child of Tom and Laurilyn Fortner. Tom Fortner is the Director of Public Affairs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The Jackson Academy senior was an accomplished dancer and extremely active in the community. Frances was accepted as an entering Freshman at the University of Missouri and was a communicant of St. James Episcopal Church.
