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A Logan County High School senior was killed on Tuesday afternoon in an automobile crash west of Auburn in Logan County.

Tracy D. Owen, 19 of Lewisburg, was travelling east on Highway 68/80 in a 1998 Chevrolet when she collided with a 1987 Chevrolet pickup being driven by Troy L. Gregory, 18 of Auburn. Gregory is also a senior at Logan County High school.

According to a police report, Owen’s vehicle continued eastbound, dropped off the right shoulder, went through a ditch and then hit a tree. Gregory’s truck went into the median and overturned.

Owen was pronounced dead at the scene by Logan County Coroner Mary Givens. Gregory was transported to Logan Memorial Hospital by Logan County EMS. He was treated and released.

Neither Owen nor Gregory were wearing seatbelts.

Lt. Jeff Sanford of the Logan County Sheriff’s Department is conducting the investigation, which is ongoing. He was assisted on the scene by Sheriff Wallace Whittaker, number deputies of the Sheriff’s Department, Auburn Police Chief Ron Mills, Logan County EMS and the Auburn Rural Fire Department.

“She was just 18 days from graduation,” said LCHS principal Casey Jaynes.

The high school had extra counsellors on hand Wednesday for students dealing with the grief of Owen’s untimely death.

“We had some of the middle school counsellors show up and we appreciated that,” Jaynes said.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the high school has had to deal with the unexpected loss of a student in recent years.

“It’s so sad because this has happened in seven of my eight years here at the school,” Jaynes said. “I was in Henderson County before this for about the same amount of time and I don’t remember more than two or three - and that was a much larger student population. I just can’t wrap my mind around why these tragedies happen so often.”

Jaynes said that he had spoken to Owen just days prior to her death about what she wanted to do after graduation.

“She worked part time at the nursing home in Auburn and she just really enjoyed helping the elderly people out,” he said. “She wanted to maybe continue in a field that would let her do that.”