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Teens to attend second prom after car accident forces them to miss their first one

Posted at 10:47 PM, Jun 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-01 22:47:09-04

ALLEGAN COUNTY, Mich. -- Four teenagers in Allegan County are getting a second chance at their prom after they say the brakes went out on their car, causing them to run a stop sign and get t-boned by another vehicle. Instead of dancing the night away, they spent the night in the hospital.

Now, the teens will get a chance to redo the big dance thanks to some helpful volunteers.

The father of one of the girls in the accident posted on Facebook after the crash asking if there was anything they could do for the kids. The post went viral, and now almost all of Hamilton High School is getting ready to attend a second prom just for them.

"I was really excited because it was my first prom," said Brooke Miller, a junior at Hamilton High School.

Brooke and her friend, Tiffany Schippa, were on their way to take more prom photos with their dates when tragedy struck.

"We were headed to the Hamilton Rod and Gun Club to go and take more pictures but we didn't make it there," said Schippa.

Instead, they say they experienced major car trouble.

"I bought the car two days before prom and the brakes went out," said Schippa. "We went through a stop sign and she hit us going pretty fast. We spun around six or seven times and ended up in a ditch."

"I remember the whole thing," said Brooke Miller.

The girls' parents remember getting that horrifying phone call.

"I got a call saying, 'Dad, there's been an accident and I don't think Vasha's going to make it'. That's what I got, so I immediately freaked out."

The four teenagers survived, but spent their night at the hospital instead of prom.

"We never made it to prom," said Schippa.

It was something that didn't sit well with the teens' parents and much of the community.

"Being a father myself, I have three kids and I have a daughter and I wouldn't want her to miss her prom," said Josh Keedy, marketing director for Hometown Battles. "To me it was kind of personal to say that it's really important these kids do this. We will try to do everything we can for them to make this happen."

People like Josh Keedy and Nate Koehn from the organization Hometown Battles decided to help out. They're an organization that helps veterans with everything from paying their bills and living expenses.

"I told Chad with everything you've done for the veterans organization and your son being a current service member, let us help out," said Nate Koehn, president of Hometown Battles. "Let me find a way that our organization can help you out.

Hometown Battles as well as the radio station 105.3 HOT-FM and community members have donated everything for the second prom, keeping it free of charge for those attending. The second prom will be Saturday, June 9 at the Trestle Center in Hamilton. So far, about 100 of their classmates plan on attending.

"Everybody started stepping forward and paying it forward," said Chad Miller.

"We're just getting more and more excited as we go," said Schippa. "It's more exciting than the real prom. Everybody gets a second prom and we get our first prom."

In addition to a free prom, the girls are going to be getting free hair and makeup and their dates are getting free tuxedo rentals, since theirs were cut off and ruined in the accident.

Of course, the teens are going to be taking more pictures, but the girls say they're going to have their parents drive them to the prom this time.