Communities mourn two teens who died in accident over weekend

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ROSINTON, Alabama — Local communities are mourning the deaths of two teenagers, killed in a single-vehicle crash Saturday, June 12 off County Road 64 in Rosinton.

The two teens have been identified as Paul “Bear” Sexton and Lydia Peace, both 17, and both residents of Foley.

According to a release from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the crash occurred Saturday afternoon when a 2006 Chrysler Pacifica left the roadway, struck a tree and caught fire. Peace and Sexton were both pronounced dead at the scene.

Senior Trooper Anna Peoples, traffic homicide investigator with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, said Tuesday there has been no new information related to the crash.

“All we have right now is what was on the initial trooper’s report that for unknown reasons the vehicle left the roadway, struck a tree and was engulfed in flames,” she said. “The investigating trooper is still in the process of interviewing witnesses, but unfortunately, we may not ever know the reason.”

According to the initial report, seat belts were available in the vehicle, but it is unknown whether or not they were used.

On social media, Baldwin County Public Schools extended condolences “to the families of two teens that were killed this weekend in a Baldwin County car accident.”

Robertsdale High School Principal Joe Sharp confirmed Tuesday that Peace was a student at the school.

“It has caught us all off guard. She was so full of life and so full of potential,” he said. “All we can do right now is come together and reach out to the family to offer whatever we can to meet their needs during this tragic time.”

Officials with the town of Loxley also offered condolences. Lydia Peace’s mother and grandfather are both longtime employees of the town, said Mayor Richard Teal.

“It is with great sadness I share that the Town of Loxley family has lost a loved one,” he said in a statement issued Tuesday. “Our hearts are heavy from this news, and we offer our deepest condolences to family and friends.”

Lt. Tony Lovell, chief investigator with the Loxley Police Department, who also serves as the town’s volunteer fire chief, called Peace a “bright young lady with a great future head of her.”

“Her life was cut way too short,” he said. “It’s just a bad situation and we’re all going to miss her a lot. She was taken way too soon.”

Go Fund Me accounts have been set up to raise funds to help with funeral expenses for both teens.

“Helping send Lydia Peace home,” was set up by Ginger Lee of Brewton, and “Paul Sexton’s (Christina Sexton’s son) Funeral,” set up by Josie Kalmer of Gulf Shores.

Kalmer said she connected with Christina Sexton on Facebook through a project called Santa’s Giving Tree, which provides Christmas gifts to families in need, set up by Sexton.

“She is someone who always gives 100 percent of herself to help the community and I really felt that this was something the community could do to give back to her,” Kalmer said. “No parent should lose their child and hopefully this is an expense that she will not have to worry about during this time.”

A benefit to help with expenses for Sexton was also held Thursday at Symbolic Ink Shop in Foley.

“He was definitely a good kid and that was a sad, sad day for us,” said shop owner Chris Blake.

Proceeds from all sales on Thursday went toward expenses for Sexton, Blake said, including sales of food available that day.

“We’re doing everything we can to help out,” he said. “You just couldn’t ask for a better person and when we heard what happened we just all fell to pieces.”

This latest tragedy comes on the heels of reports of at least six Baldwin teens killed in roadway accidents within a three-month period in the late spring and summer of 2020.

Last June, three friends, Blayne Shackelford of Bay Minette, Ty Drinkard of Perdido, and John Avery Blackmon of Spanish Fort, died in a single vehicle accident near the Crossroads community.

A month later, 16-year-old Dalton DeFilippi of Daphne died in a single-vehicle accident on County Road 54 between Belforest and Silverhill.

In August, Terrence Muse of Daphne and Garrett Phillips of Robertsdale died in separate accidents on the same day.