Prom re-do Local students get a second chance at prom after crash
SALINE COUNTY - After her daughter left for dinner prior to Harrisburg's prom, LaNette Proctor got the call no parent wants.
Her daughter Hannah, along with five other teens going to prom, had been in a wreck.
The teens, four from Harrisburg and two from Carrier Mills, had been traveling on Illinois 13 to eat dinner in Marion before returning to Harrisburg for prom night.
When they approached the intersection of Illinois 166 east of Marion, a truck at the stoplight pulled into the path of their vehicle, colliding with the teens.
"Two of the girls, my daughter included, were airlifted to Evansville (Indiana). She's better now, but she still has a concussion and short-term memory issues," Proctor, a second-grade teacher at Harrisburg, said.
The remaining teens were taken by ambulance to local hospitals, she said.
In the wake of the crash, prom was not going to be possible.
However, another school stepped up to give the teens a second chance at making high school memories.
"Later that night, I received an invite from Brandi VanMeter with a sweet, sweet invitation for the kids who were not able to make it to prom," Proctor said.
VanMeter, one of the Carrier Mills-Stonefort High School parent organizers, or "prom moms," was inviting the six teens to CMSF High School's prom and afterprom.
"We all were so very humbled and appreciate the overwhelming generosity of that invitation," Proctor said. "The kids got to do a 'redo' last Friday night."
This time, they opted to dine in-town at Morello's in Harrisburg, she said.
She also said she and other parents were relieved that injuries from the wreck were not more serious.
"It was bad, but it could have ended up being very tragic," Proctor said. "I think God has a plan for each one of them individually."