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Katelyn “Katie” Beran, 15, was killed when the vehicle she was in veered off Brinkman Ridge Road near Zietlow Lane about 7:10 a.m. as she and two fellow students were en route to summer classes at Central.
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Driver Jacob Wuensch, 17, of Coon Valley, Wis., apparently lost control of the vehicle as it crested a hill and it left the road, rolled 31/2 times and hit a tree, according to the Vernon County Sheriff’s Department.
Wuensch was in critical condition and 15-year-old Alyssa Gilbertson of Chaseburg, Wis., was in stable condition late Tuesday at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center.
Vernon County Chief Deputy James Hanson said investigator have not determined what caused the crash, the county’s fifth fatal accident this year.
Beran, described as a popular Central student who would have been a sophomore this fall, is the youngest child and only daughter of school activities director Joe Beran and wife Tami, a fourth-grade teacher at North Woods International School.
“She was a wonderful young lady and we are heartbroken,” said La Crosse School District Superintendent Jerry Kember. “This is a tragedy that no family should have to go through.”
Central English teacher Niels Anderson, who had Katie Beran in a class, said she “was everything you could want in a student” and had genuine concern for others.
“She really had it in her that there wasn’t anyone she would snub or no sense that she was better than anyone else,” Anderson said. “She had humility and was so kind. She was just nice to everyone and there wasn’t anyone who didn’t like her.”
Whether in school or on the junior varsity softball team, Katie Beran’s goal was to spend as much time with her friends as possible, her father said.
“She was a real spirited kid who was loved by so many people,” Joe Beran said. “In an awkward kind of way, she loved going to school because it gave her a chance to be with her friends.”
Central teacher and close family friend Jim Hansen said he will remember Katie Beran’s beauty, smile and the fun she had with other students.
Counselors will be at Central from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, Principal Tom Barth said.
Tribune reporter Autumn Grooms contributed to this story. Dan Springer can be reached at (608) 791-8269 or dspringer@lacrossetribune.com.
