An 18-year-old Chicago student tragically passed away in a car crash hours after she attended her senior prom. Per NBC 5 Chicago, Tom Mya Lyons, a Homewood-Flossmoor High School student, died on Sunday, May 4, after the vehicle she was riding in crashed on the Sibley Boulevard ramp onto the inbound Bishop Ford Expressway.
The fatal crash is said to have happened at 4:31 a.m. Video obtained from the crash site showed that the vehicle sustained significant damage. The car’s passenger side was also said to be badly damaged.
“It’s all surreal. I can’t believe that we sent her off and celebrating her, getting ready to graduate and now we’re celebrating her leaving the Earth,” Lyons’ stepfather, Charles Parker, said. “It’s a hard pill to swallow right now.”
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Parker said the vehicle in question was being driven by his stepdaughter’s 16-year-old boyfriend. Illinois State Police said he did not sustain any injuries from the crash.
“He was cut off trying to get off expressway and lost control. I don’t have full details,” he said.
At the time of this report, the police were yet to provide details on the cause of the crash. Officials said the prom was held at Field Museum in Chicago, and Lyons had attended the event hours before she died in the crash.
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“I remember when her and her mom were getting everything together – I’m a man, so I don’t know much about that type of stuff – but the planning process and everything that they were doing to get prepared for the prom and picking out the colors, the way the dress was designed, I believe everything was Tom Mya’s idea,” Parker recalled.
Parker also said his stepdaughter loved music and wanted to venture into that industry. “She wanted to be a DJ. She loved music,” he told NBC 5 Chicago. “She was quiet, but at the same time, she was ambitious. Just to see how she was interacting with that and some of my friends who are DJs, it’s hard. I can’t believe it.”
Besides music, Parker also said his step daughter wanted to attend cosmetology school and become an entrepreneur in the beauty industry. “Man, she just got a few weeks to graduate, and just to see that she’s gone, it’s hard,” he said.
School staff also said Lyons was part of their step team. “Dance step, DJ, always had a smile on her face,” her friend Jeda McClendo said. “Never complaining, just a happy and joyful girl to be around.”
“Tom Mya was more than just a student — she was a vibrant member of our community, a loyal friend, a dedicated classmate, a committed teammate and a positive presence throughout Homewood-Flossmoor High School,” Principal Clinton Alexander said in a statement. “Her energy, kindness and spirit touched the lives of many, and her absence will be deeply felt by us all.”
