Community mourns death of student

As principal of Havelock Middle School, Tabari Wallace has to be strong.

But even he admitted that learning of the death of one of his students in a Monday morning car crash was difficult.

“It’s a rough day for Havelock Middle School,” he said on Monday. “I even got emotional myself, which is a rare thing for me.”

Haley Mills, 13, a seventh-grader who was a soccer standout, saxophone player and honor roll member, died in the crash on Ferry Road around 7 a.m. Monday.

The crash left her older sister, Amanda Mills, 16, a Havelock High student, and their younger brother, John Mills, 11, injured.

Amanda Mills was apparently driving her siblings to school when the crash occurred around 7 a.m. at the intersection of Ferry Road and Man of War Drive at the entrance of the White Horse Run subdivision at Cherry Branch.

“Everybody had their book bags loaded up and ready to go,” said Stephen Brown, trooper with the N.C. Highway Patrol who is investigating the crash. “Just want to keep the family in your prayers. Seeing children (hurt) is something that always touches me.”

Brown said Amanda Mills was driving a Dodge Journey when she apparently pulled out into the path of a large turf truck driven by Harold Harickson, 28, of Beaufort, who was heading north in the general direction of the Cherry Branch ferry dock. The truck left skid marks on the road from where Harickson tried to stop.

“He did all he could to get stopped,” Brown said.

The truck struck the car and crushed the entire passenger side, where Haley Mills was sitting. Brown said all three siblings were wearing seatbelts.

Amanda Mills and John Mills were both airlifted to Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville. Amanda Mills was listed in fair condition and John Mills was listed in good condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Brown said Harickson, who was not injured, was not speeding and won’t be charged in the crash. The truck, owned by Tidewater Turfgrass Farm, was partially loaded with large rolls of sod and a forklift.

At Havelock Middle School, administrators went class by class to inform students of the death of Haley Mills, described by Wallace as one of the most popular students in school.

He said there were 14 counselors at the school to help the students through their grieving process. Some parents checked their students out of school early.

Wallace said Mills was a tremendous athlete.

“She could play soccer with any high school athlete there is,” Wallace said. “She was an A/B honor roll student. She did her work. She did what she was supposed to do.

“Her personality was vivacious. She was loved by all her peers and her teachers. There’s one adjective I can use. She was leader and not a follower in that seventh grade. If there was a goal to be met, she was going to get it.”

Wallace said she represented the seventh grade on the school’s student advisory committee.

“She was just loved. You could tell by the outpouring,” Wallace said. “She was extremely popular in school. The kids are extremely distraught.”

The Craven County Board of Education was meeting in New Bern when word came Monday morning of the death of Haley Mills in the crash. Larry Moser, Craven County Schools superintendent, traveled to Havelock Middle School Monday afternoon.

“I want to extend our deepest condolences to the family as well as to the Havelock Middle School family,” he said. “We are deeply saddened and sombered by the news that we received (Monday) morning. And again, our heart goes out to all those within those families.”

The school postponed extracurricular activities for the day, including scheduled softball and baseball games. Before the end of the school day, large wreaths had been placed in front of the school’s sign, and flags were being flown at half mast in front of the school.

Friends of the children’s parents, Lori and Mike Mills of Havelock, headed to Greenville to support the family.

Jim Boyce, the school’s band director, taught Haley Mills on the saxophone for two years and said she had earned a superior grade in a competition last year.

“She was a good player and had an enjoyable personality with lots of friends,” Boyce said. “She was very much a people person. She brought life into the classroom.”