An Illinois 18-year-old was killed in a car crash this week, less than 24 hours after walking down the aisle on her wedding day.
Machaela "Katie" Sherrod was killed Sunday when her vehicle went off Tuller Road in Carrier Mills, and flipped down an embankment. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sherrod's husband, John Gould, was also in the vehicle, and is being treated at a hospital in Evansville, Indiana. There were no other vehicles involved in the accident.
A friend of Sherrod's, Breonna Irvin, told WSIL-TV that Gould tried to save his wife, and that the widower is progressing physically, but struggling emotionally.
Sherrod's former Harrisburg High School art teacher, Sara Deneal, said that Katie was a pleasure to have in class, and called her death a tragedy.
"We're just all stunned, really," she told WSIL. "Anytime you lose a student, you just think of all the possibilities and you remember all the wonderful things that happened with them."
Sherrod graduated from the high school this year, and married her 22-year-old boyfriend on June 21 at Harrisburg Park. Her father, Scott Sherrod, walked her down the aisle.
Deneal said the couple was in love.
"She even invited me to her wedding, and she was just so excited about that," she reported. "And I met him. Hopefully, he's going to be okay. But I know he was head over heels in love with her."
Irvin was comforted by Sherrod's faith in God.
"I know Katie is in a better place," she told WSIL. "She believed in God and she got married at 18.
"She wanted to live a right life, and I think she's okay."
According to the Sherrod family's crowdfunding campaign, the newlyweds were on their way to visit family when tragedy struck. They are asking for $11,682 for funeral costs, and said that Katie did not have an insurance policy. Over $7,500 has been raised so far. The family also asks for prayers during this difficult time.
Sherrod is survived by her husband, John, parents, Scott and Connie, and siblings Joe, Jimmy, and Amanda.
