The daughter of a senior Lowe's executive died after crashing her Porsche supercar into a tree early on Saturday morning, allegedly while she was speeding. Stella Grace Bright, 16, who was with her twin sister Olivia, was driving her 2014 Porsche 911 near Lake Norman, North Carolina when she veered off the road and crashed into a rock landscaping wall.
Bright died immediately, while two others in her car were hospitalized. One of the two passengers was seated in the back of the Porsche, although it was a two-seater vehicle and not designed to accommodate rear-seat passengers. Bright and the other front seat passenger were both in their seat belts.
Tragic Death
The person in the back seat was not wearing a seat belt. The identities of the injured victims have not been disclosed, and there have been no updates regarding their conditions.
This tragic incident took place at around 3:20 am on a Saturday, less than two miles away from her family's luxurious $2.6 million lakefront property.
Heart-wrenching tributes have flooded in after the 16-year-old's passing, with her devastated twin sister mourning the loss of her "other half."
"I don't know how I'm going to live another day without you u (sic) meant the world to me and still do. You didn't deserve to go this soon you really didn't," Olivia wrote.
"I won't stop thinking about you and I know you want me to be happy so I'm going to try to be happy just for you."
In a news statement issued after the collision, North Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper Christopher Casey refrained from disclosing the exact speed at which the teenager was traveling before the crash but identified it as the primary factor leading to the accident.
It remains unclear whether the high-performance car, with a top speed of 199 mph, was owned outright by Bright or if she was covered by insurance on a vehicle owned by her parents, Teresa and Chris. Several local news outlets, including the Charlotte Observer, described the car as hers.
Following the tragic accident, investigations were initiated to determine its cause, leading to the closure of the scene for over three hours by the police.
Like a Suicide
The collision took place in the vicinity of Mansfield Loop, around five miles from Donald Trump's golf course, Trump National Charlotte.
Trooper Casey did not provide details about what Bright and her two friends were doing before the accident. The tragic incident occurred less than two miles from her family's opulent home by Lake Norman.
Their picturesque lakefront home is equipped with a private pier, a saltwater pool, and an extravagant spa.
Stella's father, Chris Bright, is the Vice President of Market Delivery & Final Mile at Lowe's, which is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the United States. According to his LinkedIn profile, he joined the company three years ago and previously served as the Vice President of Supply Chains at Nordstrom.
Bright's mother, Teresa, runs a gift-making business and frequently posted photos of her daughters and their stunning home on social media. The family originally hails from the Pacific Northwest.
In the wake of the tragic passing of the 16-year-old, her devastated friends and family have been sharing touching memories of her. They remember Bright as a kind and warm-hearted individual who had a remarkable presence and would "light up the room."
Her closest friend, Jocelyn Carroll, expressed her grief on Instagram, reminiscing about their shared memories and saying, "Rest in peace to my bestest friend in the whole universe."
"I can't even begin to describe with words how grateful I am to have met you and to be apart of your life. You are so amazing and caring ad kind and talented and you had such a beautiful soul.
"You always know how to put a smile on anyone's face... you were the bestest sister I never got to have and I miss you so much. I'm so sorry I never got to say goodbye."
Those who were acquainted with Bright also emphasized that she was a gorgeous and outgoing 16-year-old. They described her as someone who always had the knack for "making people smile in an awkward situation," as mentioned by her friend Ryleigh Ackermann.
