Thursday, March 28, 2024

Tolar freshman dies after ATV accident

Posted

A 15-year-old girl who was a freshman at Tolar High School was pronounced dead Sunday after being injured in an off-road ATV accident that occurred Friday afternoon on private property near Tolar.

Evalina Celia Teresa Salazar — known to friends and family as “Lina” — was one of four girls, all age 15, who were ejected from a 2005 Polaris Ranger ATV that was traveling down a dirt path on the property on Pear Orchard Road, according to Jamie Chapmon, Lina's mother. The location of the accident was just west of Glen Rose Highway (SH 144).

Lina suffered severe injuries after the ATV rolled over and landed on top of her, her mother said. The ATV was removed when first responders arrived, and CPR was performed for approximately 15 minutes. She was then transported by air ambulance to Harris Methodist Hospital in downtown Fort Worth. Among several tests performed, an MRI on Sunday showed that she had “no brain activity,” according to her mother.

Chapmon said that they are in the process of donating organs and tissue from Lina, for others in need. Tonight (Tuesday, April 12) because of the organ and tissue donation, Harris Methodist Hospital in downtown Fort Worth has scheduled a flag ceremony at 6 p.m., to be followed at 9 p.m. by an honor walk, her mother said.

None of the other three girls who had been ejected during the accident were severely injured, according to Chapmon. One suffered what was believed to have been a mild concussion. One had some arm and hand bruises and the other girl had relatively minor scrapes and bruises. Chapmon noted that the ATV had just gone over a hill, and the trail curved to the left where the rollover occurred.

Chapmon said that the death triggered what is now an ongoing investigation of the incident through the Hood County District Attorney’s Office.

Lina’s body will be cremated, Chapmon said, and the time and location for a public memorial service will be announced at a later date.

This was Lina’s first year of school in Tolar, after moving from Springtown to a Hood County residence off Nix Road. She was an honor student at THS, was active in the Student Council, and was a student athletic trainer. Her father, Cres Salazar, is the chief of police in Springtown. Lina’s stepfather is Ronnie Chapmon.