Nicolet Students Mourn Loss of Classmates Killed in High-Speed Crash

Under a gray drizzling sky Saturday afternoon, five Nicolet High School sophomores gathered at the site where their 15-year-old classmates Halee Ludowise-Fischer and Jennifer Geren into a tree and utility pole earlier in the day.

The students signed their names to messages in permanent marker on a utility pole that the car had struck at West Good Hope Road and North Seneca Avenue in Glendale. Dozens of others already had left their own notes and bouquets of flowers.

Jnana Martin, 16, said she didn't write anything on the pole because she couldn't think of anything that would do justice to her feelings for her friends.

"There's just no words," she said.

Martin said she had been best friends with Ludowise-Fischer in middle school, and drifted somewhat in high school, though they remained good friends. She said Ludowise-Fischer could make friends with almost anyone because of her positive attitude.

"She had a lot of friends," Martin said. "She wasn't judgmental at all."

Martin said Ludowise-Fischer always tried to make the best of any conflict that was happening around her.

"Halee was the kind of person who when people talked about her, she didn't flap back, she didn't react," she said. "She always had a smile on her face. Even when things were bad, she smiled because she wanted them to be right. She would never cry in front of people; she would always smile for the sake of it.

"She didn't get mad about anything. She was such a lively person and didn't feed into negativity."

"She is going to be greatly missed."

Martin was less close with Geren, but said she frequently noticed what a loyal friend Geren was, even to acquaintances.

"She would always talk about how much she loved her friends," Martin said. "She was a very loyal person. She would always laugh at people's jokes, even when they weren't funny."

Martin said she was in an English class with Geren, where she regularly excelled.

"We would actually clap for Jenni when she would come to class," Martin said. "We would say, 'Jenni is in class today' and clap for her ... And when when Jenni laughed, everyone would laugh."

The accident occurred at 1 a.m Saturday, when Ludowise-Fischer, who was driving her parents' car, attempt to elude a River Hills police officer who tried to stop her for a traffic violation, police say.

The car kept speeding east on Good Hope Road for several blocks before crashing into a utility pole and a tree. The two girls died instantly, police said.

Some students gathered at the site of the crash Saturday, while more than a dozen met with a school psychologist in the school lobby.

Nicolet Superintendent Rick Monroe said he is planning to have five counseling stations set up at school Monday for individual and group counseling. Teachers will read an announcement in the morning to their classes about the car crash, and students will be allowed to leave classes at any time to attend the counseling sessions.

"Our focus now is on taking care of our students and doing what we can for the families," Monroe said.