Hundreds of community members lined Beale Street in Kingman to watch Tatum Meins and Sherene “Siri” Walema being escorted home to Kingman. Both teenagers died last week in a car accident involving five Lee Williams High School students. (Photo by MacKenzie Dexter/For the Miner)
Before going back to class, Lee Williams High School students and community members lined Historic Route 66 as Meins’ and Walema’s families and first responders drove off. The bodies of both girls were escorted home to Kingman by the Kingman Fire Department and Mohave County Sheriff’s Office from Lake Havasu City. (Photo by MacKenzie Dexter/For the Miner)
KINGMAN – The bodies of Tatum Meins and Sherene “Siri” Walema were escorted back home to Kingman by the Kingman Fire Department and Mohave County Sheriff’s Office a week after a car accident claimed their lives.
Hundreds ofcommunity members lined Beale Street across from Lee Williams High School as the Meins and Walema were accompanied by family members and first responders from Lake Havasu City to separate funeral homes in Kingman. On Thursday, April 13, five LWHS students were involved in a rollover car accident that killed Meins, 17, and Walema, 15. Brady Shuffler and Cannon Cobanovich were hospitalized in Las Vegas but have since returned home. Reilly Feil remains in the hospital.
Along with representing LWHS with red and black attire and signs, community members and students also incorporated pink and purple, the girls’ favorite colors, with ballons, signs and ribbons. Dozens of fire engines, trucks and MCSO vehicles escorted two hearses down Beale Street. Families, friends and supportive community members embraced one another as Meins, Walema and their families passed by.
According to the Kingman Police Department, Meins was pronounced dead at the scene and Walema died following transportation to Kingman Regional Medical Center. Kingman Regional Medical Center nurses attended a vigil last Friday to offer their condolences and said they “fought hard” to save Walema.
Meins was preparing to graduate next month before heading out to William Penn University. Only days before the accident, she signed with the university to play softball. Meins was the daughter of KFD Capitan Joey Meins, which made the KFD fire engines that escorted her and Wilema even more personal.
“Tatum is a child of one of KFD’s Captains. She is KFD family,” KFD wrote on their Facebook page.
Walema was in her first year at LWHS and also played with Meins on the high school’s softball team. Family members rode motorcycles behind Walema as both girls rode past their high school one last time. Classmates held signs expressing how much they loved both girls and that they will be missed.
As the community mourns, school officials encourage students, families and community members to utilize the resources available through the school, locally and nationally during the grieving process. Mohave County Department of Public Health is providing resources to students, families, faculty members and community members. MCDPH Behavioral Health Coordinator Carrie Pastella can be contacted at 928-352-4209 or pastec@mohave.gov.
24/7 crisis services include:
• The National Suicide Crisis Line, 988
• Arizona Statewide Crisis Line, 1-844-534-4673
• Crisis Textline, text “HELLO” to 741741
• Teen Lifeline, 602-248-8336 or 1-800-248-8336
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