Grief counselors on staff at Taft High after prom night fatality

Grief counselors will be at Taft High School in Woodland Hills today because of a prom night tragedy.

[Who cares]

Died so young!
8 people in a possible 6-7 passenger vehicle?
And she was on her way to Prom. What happened to Limos? And she was a sophmore going to the senior prom? I couldn't imagine a girl in her prom dress being stuffed into an SUV with 7 other people.

[Bonesaw]

very sad,how fast were they going. no seat belt what a fool.

[Vin Diesel]

This is because of Greasy Tony al La Raza...Oh wait, I'm not West Valley dave Smith!!

[get a life]

Sad, very sad. RIP young lady. However, something here has a bad smell to it. Too many people crammed into a SUV, with no seat belts for everyone?? They all must have known this was the case and yet they all chose to drive anyway. Did the parents know how the kids were get to where they were going? Maybe not, and that's the sad part. But the kids knew..........and swerving to avoid another car, happens everyday, why did this one roll over?? Can we all say....SPEED....?

[get a life]

Vin Diesel wrote:

This is because of Greasy Tony al La Raza...Oh wait, I'm not West Valley dave Smith!!

Forget it VIN....you don't have enough years left in your life to try and fill Dave's shoes. Now go on about your business.

[sick of this]

Without knowing what type of SUV, it is hard to say. No, she should not have been going to a senior prom. Many SUVs are top heavy even without being filled to legal seating capacity or the speed factor. Take a test drive in a few- and say a prayer for the poor kid who died.

[Rick]

Driver probably was not paying attention to the road conditions and going to fast. I hope he was not texting or yakking on a cell phone. Was this a Ford, Lexus what type of SUV. To roll it he had to really turn the wheel sharp.

[Concerned Parent]

Thoughts and prayers to the family. Of course the questions are there of why...was she there, no seat belt, too young, diver mistakes... bottom line, a young 16 year old girl is no longer here. Im sure there is enough guilt being felt without the snide comments. Personally I have been freaking out about my daughter going to her senior prom and the accidents that seem to happen on those nights. A parent’s worst nightmare I really feel for the family. RIP Jennifer Perla

[Student 4rm Taft]

This is a very sad and hard moment for most of the kids who attend Taft High School. i didnt know her but i know her friend who was driving the car ma heart goes out to the family of Jennifer Perla. Some people say why would that 16 year old girl go to a prom with a senior, she's her own person if she went she went get off her back. She wanted to have a good time with her friends and no body can blame any one for that. I do think the people in the car could of had told Jennifer to put on a seat belt. No one knew what was going to happen that night, so for you people who has negative things to say, get a life.
R.I.P Jennifer Perla

[WOW]

My heart goes out to the family. We are all at the mercy of these mean streets. We have to double check everything our kids want to do. Ask questions, find out details and help whenever possible. Drive them, pay the gas/parking for an additional vehicle, whatever it takes. Watch them as closely as you can, our parental years are so brief already.

I almost lost my daughter at that age from an auto accident.
Pray for the family and cry a tear for every teenage driver that doesn't think it can happen to them.

[mytwocents]

Seven seat belts, eight people. I hope for their sake that the parents didn't know about this problem. As a parent if I had to carry the burden of that knowledge around for the rest of my life, I would die a new death each day. Sorry for your loss.

[ladyofargonne]

Who cares wrote:

Died so young!
8 people in a possible 6-7 passenger vehicle?
And she was on her way to Prom. What happened to Limos? And she was a sophmore going to the senior prom? I couldn't imagine a girl in her prom dress being stuffed into an SUV with 7 other people.

my son's school in long beach banned limos. they thought it sent the wrong message.

[WOW]

ladyofargonne wrote:

<quoted text>
my son's school in long beach banned limos. they thought it sent the wrong message.

How many teenager have died as a result of banning limos?

[California Mom]

Student 4rm Taft wrote:

This is a very sad and hard moment for most of the kids who attend Taft High School. i didnt know her but i know her friend who was driving the car ma heart goes out to the family of Jennifer Perla. Some people say why would that 16 year old girl go to a prom with a senior, she's her own person if she went she went get off her back. She wanted to have a good time with her friends and no body can blame any one for that. I do think the people in the car could of had told Jennifer to put on a seat belt. No one knew what was going to happen that night, so for you people who has negative things to say, get a life.
R.I.P Jennifer Perla

It's OK for a sophomore to go to the senior prom. That isn't the point. It's not OK for the driver to allow a passenger to go without a seatbelt. In fact, the driver can be held liable for the girl's death because it's his responsibility to make sure all passengers are wearing seatbelts. If he has a driver's license, he has to know that. He should be ashamed of himself, at the very least. The other passengers are also to blame. They all planned to ride together in unsafe conditions. They all thought this couldn't happen to them. They all thought just this one time, it's OK to ignore safety and the law. They gambled and lost, and one of them died for their bad judgment. If there weren't enough seats for everybody, the girl who died shouldn't have gone. The $85 for the prom ticket and whatever she paid for her dress, shoes and flowers are nothing compared to the cost of burying her, and the immeasurable agony caused to her family and friends. This disgusts me because it was PREVENTABLE. Instead of telling us to get a life, tell all your teenage friends to listen to their parents and obey safety laws, for cryin' out loud.

[JohnandKenRule]

Here come the lawsuits. Let's sue the car manufacturer, the tire manufacturer, City of LA, Taft High Shool, the Dress Maker, the driver, the drivers parents, The Science Center and anybody else that we can think of. Accidents are tragic and they happen. The only person to blame is the girl that died. Ever hear of seatbelts.

[bad boy]

JohnandKenRule wrote:

Here come the lawsuits. Let's sue the car manufacturer, the tire manufacturer, City of LA, Taft High Shool, the Dress Maker, the driver, the drivers parents, The Science Center and anybody else that we can think of. Accidents are tragic and they happen. The only person to blame is the girl that died. Ever hear of seatbelts.

A John and Ken nut, eh?
Dont forget to blame the teachers for this!

[JohnandKenRule]

The teachers have nothing to do with it. Society in America has been taught to blame somebody else. Clasic case The McDonald hot coffee lawsuit. In any other country in the world this would have been thrown out of court. Here in the US we reward her stupidity with a payday. Great Britain did in fact throw out a similar lawsuit.

[Stonedpony]

WOW wrote:

<quoted text>
How many teenager have died as a result of banning limos?

How many have died for being stupid and the parents not taking control of their kids and what they are doing and who they are with.

[friend of jennifer]

u will b missed princess.
r.i.p jenny very much
</3

[concerned]

This story is really sad,i hope god brings the family strenght,god bless..