Greenwood High School sophomore dies in 2-vehicle wreck

By Midland Reporter-Telegram Updated 8:06 pm CDT, Tuesday, August 20, 2019

A 15-year-old Greenwood High School sophomore died Monday morning in a two-vehicle wreck at the intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 1379 and State Highway 158, according to a press release from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Jenna Bird, driving a Hyundai Accent, was stopped on FM 1379 at the intersection facing north, and a 49-year-old Odessa man was driving a Ford F-250 eastbound on SH 158. Bird attempted to turn left on to SH 158 and failed to yield the right of way, according to the release. The car collided with the pickup, according to the release.

Bird, a member of the school’s volleyball team, died at the scene, according to the release.

Bird’s 44-year-old mother and 12-year-old sister were passengers in the car. GHS Principal Stacy Jones told the Reporter-Telegram Tuesday afternoon that her mother was at ICU at Midland Memorial Hospital, and her sister, who attends Brooks Middle School, was released from the hospital late Monday night after observation.

The pickup driver was not injured. Bird, her passengers and the other driver all were wearing seat belts, according to the release. The wreck occurred at about 7 a.m. Monday, 12 miles east of Midland.

Jones said the Bird family moved to Greenwood about a month ago, and it’s a “devastating time.”

A prayer service for the community was held Monday night at the GHS gym.

“We prayed (together), and we cried together,” Jones said. “And now we’re back at school today, and we have a game to play. We didn’t know if they were going to play, but the girls want to play, so we’re going to head to Lamesa later today with the JV team. We’re all just trying to get back to a sense of normalcy if we can. It’s a difficult thing to do.”

Greenwood ISD administration has created a GoFundMe account for expenses and also requested donations during the vigil. Greenwood’s parent teacher committee requested donations for the family during Tuesday night’s meeting.

Jones said the district will also accept donations at the Greenwood ISD building, located at 2700 FM 1379.

“We’re still early in the process for (additional) memorials,” Jones said. “We want to wait until mom is released from the hospital and doing better.”

Bird is the 16th person to die on roads in Midland County this year, according to Reporter-Telegram records.