ROCKY MOUNT, Va. – “She was just a beautiful girl,” 16-year-old Destiny Hodges’ grandmother, Bonnie Hodges, said.
Friday morning, Bonnie Hodges was still trying to process the death of her granddaughter. Destiny Hodges was killed in a car crash on Thursday night in Franklin County.
“Gonna miss her so much, so, so much. Young life left too soon,” Hodges said.
At the crash site, she, her husband and other family members searched through the remains of the car Destiny was riding in.
They were looking for her phone, but instead could only find the phone of the man state police say was driving the car.
That man, 21-year-old Elijah Rorrer, remained hospitalized Friday.
“My daughter came over with the state trooper and one of the guys that works with the Rocky Mount Police Department. They were really nice people. They came in the door and that’s when we knew. It was about one o’ clock (in the morning) when we woke up. We were, like, ‘No, this can’t be true, this can’t be true,'” Hodges recalled.
State police said the car was headed north on 220 Business around 10:15 Thursday night when it crossed the concrete median and slammed into some trees.
“Just took everything out of me, man,” Destiny’s grandfather, Jeffery Hagwood said.
Hagwood, was also at the crash site Friday morning.
He hadn't been to sleep since learning about the crash.
“I said, ‘No, not my doodoo.’ I call her doodoo. I said, ‘Not my doodoo, no. It couldn’t happen,’" said Hagwood. "She’s taller than I am, so I’ll just remember her coming and hugging me and saying, ‘Hey, pappa. How you doing?’”
A small gesture, now part of a much bigger story about a life tragically cut short.
The crash remained under investigation Friday. No charges had been filed.