BRIEF: 18-year-old driver charged in fatal Memphis traffic accident

Feb. 28--Memphis police charged the 18-year-old driver in the fatal wreck on Thursday that killed Mitchell High School student Laquisha Lipsey.

Jashunda Reed, also a student at Mitchell, was charged with failure to yield resulting in serious injury/death, reckless driving, and driving without a license and insurance.

Reed was traveling southbound on Weaver at about 10:30 a.m. on Thursday when she lost control of a 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier. The car rolled and crashed into a light pole.

Lipsey was pronounced dead at the scene. Reed was taken to the Regional Medical Center at Memphis in critical condition. A backseat passenger, also a student at Mitchell, was not taken to the hospital.

Shelby County Schools is providing grief counseling to students at Mitchell.

SCS officials have also said that district policy forbids students from leaving campus.

"Students are not permitted to leave campus unless they have been released into the custody of a parent or guardian or unless they have permission from a parent or guardian," said spokesman Christian Ross.

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