A 22-year-old former University of Arkansas, Fayetteville student described as both outdoorsy and a "girly girl" was one of two spectators killed in an all-terrain vehicle accident in Alabama over the weekend, officials said.
Erin Duncan of Elkins was attending the Saturday event at the Stony Lonesome Off-Highway Vehicle Park in Bremen, Ala., coroner Jeremy Kilpatrick said. Duncan was observing a competition at the park around 4 p.m. when she was critically hurt in an ATV accident, he said.
Duncan was transported to an Alabama hospital, where she was later pronounced dead, he said. Another spectator, 34-year-old Lawerence Richey of Smiths Grove, Ky., was also struck in the crash and pronounced dead at the scene, Kilpatrick said. Three other people also suffered injuries, he said.
Duncan previously attended UA, where she studied animal science, university spokesman Steve Voorhies said.
[FATAL WRECKS: Complete coverage of deadly crashes in Arkansas]
Duncan harbored and loved animals all her life and "could never leave one stranded," said her mother, Kim Duncan. She was involved in rodeo and looked after a blue heeler dog named Dally and a horse named Dynamite, Kim Duncan said.
The 22-year-old had a strong faith, which she shared with her parents and her 18-year-old brother, Caden, her mother said. Often, the group passed the time by exploring back country trails through the woods and going off-roading.
Among her daughter's favorite activities were hunting and fishing, though she always looked put together, her mother said. Despite her outdoorsy streak, Erin was also a "girly girl" who would accompany her mother on shopping trips and to the nail salon.
She was beautiful and loved pretty things, Kim Duncan said. Erin Duncan listed on social media that she was a model with the Texas-based Julie Freeman Agency LLC.
Her daughter was woven into a tight-knit family and had moved out less than a month ago, Kim Duncan said.
"She had her dad's adventurous side," she said. "But she had her mom's independence."
Metro on 04/25/2017