A 17-year-old football player at Seminole (Florida) High School was killed by a suspected drunk driver while riding her bike Friday night, according to Fox 13 News.
Sophie Delott, a safety and the only female player on the Seminole football team, was hit while riding a bike around 10:30 p.m., according to the Tampa Bay Times.
It is believed 69-year-old Neil Singhal swerved into the bike lane and hit Delott.
Prosecutors told Fox 13 News there was an open bottle of vodka in Singhal’s vehicle.
He was arrested and charged with a charge of DUI manslaughter.
Head football coach Chris Miller described Delott as a selfless person.
“Everything she did had nothing to do with wanting to be rewarded,” he told the Tampa Bay Times. “It was always about everybody else with her.”
Delott had recently enlisted in the Marine Corps.
The team Twitter account posted a message about Delott and recounted how the team learned she enlisted. The message, apparently written by Miller, said he only found out she joined when Delott told him she’d have to miss practice for her swearing-in ceremony.
“She never asked for congratulations or recognition,” the note read. “She simply wanted to serve her country.”
So Miller invited the Marine recruiters to come to a game, meet with the team and announce that Delott had enlisted. The team responded in raucous celebration.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Miller said this was the most special moment of his 17-year coaching career.
This was a special moment from last Friday. I wrote an email to the faculty and staff to share. Here it is. pic.twitter.com/B3IoyhqzXs
— SeminoleWarhawksFB (@WarhawksFB) May 14, 2019
