PHOENIX — Stacy Stembridge is devastated after losing her 15-year-old daughter Ana Marie in a horrific collision over the weekend.
“She was amusing. “She could make people laugh,” Stembridge stated. “She simply had this way of laughing. She was adorable. She had a charming demeanor, and everyone enjoyed being around her.”
Police say the unlicensed 15-year-old drove off the road and smashed into a tree at 59th Avenue and Thomas Road in west Phoenix.
Stembridge stated that her daughter snatched her keys and drove away in her car while she was sleeping, something she never expected.
“I began crying and saying, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe it.'” “I’m numb and shocked that it’s her,” Stembredge stated.
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Stembridge stated that her daughter had only started learning to drive from a friend a few days before. Now she wonders what gave her the courage to drive her automobile.
“I think that’s what started it, him (a friend) teaching her how to drive and then all of a sudden, she took my car,” Stembredge said.
She advises parents of children who do not yet have driver’s licenses to consider concealing or locking away automobile keys.
“I adore you, Ana Marie. “I’ll miss you,” she said.
A GoFundMe page has been established to commemorate Ann Marie’s memory.