Empty seat turned makeshift memorial keeps teen killed in Plant City train crash close to classmates hearts

PLANT CITY, Fla. - A Plant City High School teacher is remembering one of her students, who was one of six killed in Saturday’s train crash.

"I just want everybody to understand how special she was, how smart she was, and how she just lit up the room when she walked in," Heather Strawn said of her longtime student, 17-year-old Alyssa Hernandez, 

Strawn teaches AVID, a college prep class, at Plant City High School and Hernandez had been in her class for the last three years. 

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This week, Strawn’s students put Hernandez’s chair at the front of the classroom, decorating it with flowers and pink and purple drawings.

Hernandez’s chair sits at the front of the classroom.

"She was always looking for the next thing that she could do to better herself. She didn't ever give up. Like when things got difficult, she pushed forward. She made sure that she did the best that she could, which was always straight A's," Strawn said.

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Hernandez was one of seven people in a Cadillac SUV heading to a quinceañera birthday party Saturday night. Her parents, two siblings, her sister’s boyfriend, and friend, Jakub Lopez, were all in the vehicle driven by her father.

Pictured: Alyssa Hernandez

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said just before 7 p.m., the truck slowly crossed a private railroad crossing on US 92 near Jim Lefler Circle in Plant City near the party venue. According to investigators, the vehicle did not stop for an oncoming train.

Only the 23-year-old boyfriend, Guillermo Gama, of Hernandez’s older sister survived.

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Hernandez and Lopez were among the six killed. Strawn taught both of them in school.

Pictured: Alyssa Hernandez

"When I found out, it just broke me. You think about, how are we going to go on? On the way to school on Monday, I'm like, they're not going to walk down the hallway anymore," an emotional Strawn said.

Strawn said Hernandez loved Hello Kitty, Taylor Swift, and her blue Volkswagen Beetle. She called the teen a ‘fashionista,’ who never wore the same outfit twice and loved shopping. Strawn added that Hernandez was top ten in her class and planned to go to the University of Florida.

"We're going to keep her in class with us this year and next year until they all graduate from high school because she's a part of our family," Strawn said of the growing chair memorial.