NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — Two students from McGavock High School, lost their lives in a wreck on May 6. Because of COVID-19, their funerals were limited to close family.
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Mallaurie lost her little brother, Kevin Duke and his friend Aidan Sullivan, when the car Kevin was driving collided with a tree. Another student was also in the car, but was able to survive.
She says, she'll miss just being able to pick up the phone and call him. "Just hearing his voice and just him loving on my daughter. She loved him so much."
Friends say, Aidan had dreams of joining his father's business one day.Kevin was the kind of student that didn't have to study for the test, but always did his homework on how to make you laugh.
"When he entered the room, he would have something funny to say. You would just laugh," she said.
McGavock classmates Lizzy Locey and Lauren Mask were upset they couldn't attend a memorial service, so they brainstormed about another way to pay tribute to the two students. "We’re going through the same thing but we can’t be with each other," said Mask.
So Lizzy and Lauren have set up a tent in McGavock's parking lot. One by one, students can come sign a banner for Kevin and Aidan's families. For students with more to say, they can leave each family a letter. "We have little metal containers for their notes, pictures and little things that will go to the families as well," said Locey.
Locey believes the tribute is just as therapeutic for her classmates. "It’s giving everyone a little piece of a moment that will help them feel better too," she said. "I feel like our hearts are really together."
While COVID-19 has made finding closure in this tragedy so much harder, Mallaurie says it helps to know she's not alone in grief.
"He impacted so many people in just 18 years," said Donohue.
Kevin was supposed to graduate from McGavock this weekend. Lauren and Lizzy's tent will be set up Saturday, during the school's drive thru ceremony, so that more of their classmates can participate in the tribute.
