An 18-year-old woman lost her life in a tragic accident in St. Louis on April 26.
The incident occurred late at night, leaving her family and community in mourning.
Nyla Simmons was dancing on top of a Cadillac Escalade when the fatal accident unfolded, per KTVI-TV.
The vehicle was stopped at a red light at the intersection of South Compton and Chouteau avenues.
Around 11:20 p.m., the Escalade made a left turn, causing Simmons to lose her balance. She fell from the roof of the SUV onto the pavement below, according to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police.
Moments after her fall, a fire truck responding to an emergency call struck Simmons. The fire truck was operating with its lights and sirens on.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police are investigating the incident. They confirmed that all drivers involved, including the fire truck operator, remained at the scene and cooperated fully, according to KLTV.
KTVI reported that accidents are not uncommon at that particular intersection, though seldom fatal.
The tragic incident has also sparked a separate controversy.
Many on social media have taken umbrage with the media’s framing that the fire department was the responsible party in this death.
Headline: A teen was struck and killed by a St. Louis fire truck late Saturday night.
Reality: 19 year old Nyla Simmons was dancing on top of an Escalade and fell off when it turned left. Moments later, she was hit by a fire truck that was responding to a call. pic.twitter.com/qoDUoACKFd
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) April 29, 2025
Regardless of fault, there’s a family in mourning, and they expressed their grief to KLTV.
“We aren’t ever going to be the same after this,” her dad, Everett Simmons, told the outlet.
The Simmons family also doesn’t want any blame cast on Nyla’s friends, who were with her at the time of the tragic incident.
“We’ve all been young before, we all have done some type of thing where it could have ended up bad for us,” Everett said.
He added: “We want all her people and her friends to take this and learn from it.”
Simmons was the youngest of five children and a 2024 graduate of Parkway North High School. She was set to attend cosmetology school.
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