Thursday, November 10th, 2011
Teen driver dies after one-car crash
By Margie Wuebker
MENDON - A 19-year-old Mendon woman died Wednesday afternoon after losing control of her car along Celina-Mendon Road near Celina.
Shirissa D. Seibert, 110 N. Green St., was pronounced dead at Joint Township District Memorial Hospital in St. Marys shortly after the 5:22 p.m. crash.
Seibert was driving a 2008 Pontiac westbound between Siler and Krugh roads when, for an unknown reason, she traveled left of center and off the pavement. The car struck a ditch bank and rolled several times before coming to rest on its wheels.
The 2010 Parkway High School graduate and lone occupant of the vehicle was ejected, according to Mercer County Sheriff's Office reports. Her death marks the county's fifth traffic fatality of the year.
Responding to the scene along with deputies were Celina squad members, the Mendon Fire Department and Mercer County Emergency Response Volunteers.
The accident remains under investigation.
Seibert, daughter of Terry and Darlene Seibert, was reportedly en route to work as a server at Bob Evans in Celina at the time of the accident. She also was a student at Wright State University-Lake Campus and recently received a letter of acceptance from Capital University in Columbus.
"Shirissa was excited about transferring and combining her love of music with her interest in medicine," her father said. "She wanted to spend her life helping people."
She and her older sister, Sarah, frequently sang for charity events throughout the area, including Relay for Life and the annual Thanksgiving dinner at Celina High School.
The young woman, whom family and friends describe as happy and bubbly, also sang at area churches, the Mendon Firecracker Festival and the Rockford Belle.
She performed at the 2011 Freedom Days in Celina and qualified for the Country Star Playoffs, where she earned second place. She won top honors in the Ohio's Got Talent program and was reportedly preparing for an upcoming audition in Nashville.
"Shirissa figured God gave her the ability to sing, and she wanted to share his gift with the world," Terry Seibert said. "Her talent seemed endless ... she will be missed greatly."
Seibert also wrote music and was teaching her brother Seth to play guitar.
"She would rehearse at home and the sound of her beautiful voice filled our home," her father said. "And whenever she sang, her rat terrier Sassy sat in a nearby chair listening."
Parkway High School Principal Brian Fortkamp remembers Seibert from his teaching days.
"Shirissa was a sweet girl who knew what she wanted in life and worked hard to reach her goals," he said. "She certainly had her life together at a young age."
W.H. Dick & Sons-Hellwarth Funeral Home in Mendon has charge of arrangements.
