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2 Plant City teens killed in train crash remembered by teacher

Alyssa Hernandez, 17, and Jakub Lopez, 17, both attended Plant City High School where students and staff mourn the loss of both teens after a tragic crash.

PLANT CITY, Fla. — People in Plant City continue to grieve the loss of six people after a tragic crash, including two teenagers who went to a local high school.

Hillsborough County officials are investigating after a CSX train collided with an SUV on a private road in Plant City on Saturday. In the car was the Hernandez family, Jakub Lopez and Guillermo Gama. Gama is the sole survivor.

Alyssa and Jakub both attended Plant City High School. Heather Strawn who teaches there said she had the pleasure of having both as students. Alyssa was currently in her class.

"She’s a fashionista. It was so cute, every morning everyone would wait for Alyssa to walk down the hallway," Shrawn recalled as she thought of Alyssa. 

This week, Strawn said people feel an emptiness in the halls.

"When I found out, it just broke me, you think about, 'How are we going to go on?' They’re not going to walk down the hallway," Shrawn said. 

A memorial now sits in Shrawn's classroom. 

Credit: 10 Tampa Bay

As a junior, Alyssa was taking college-level courses and was in the top 10 of her class. Strawn said her goal was to attend the University of Florida. 

"You never saw her upset, she was always happy. Her and Jakub were never upset," Strawn recalled. 

Alyssa and Jakub were good friends at school.

"When I’d see Jakub out in the hallways, [he would always say] 'Hey Mrs. Strawn! How are you?' {He] just [had] that contagious smile."

That smile was met by so many as Jakub worked down the road at Chick-fil-A.

"Jakub just took care of the front house. Spinning milkshakes, taking orders, greeting people," Marketing Director for Chick-fil-A Joe Pradera said.

His coworkers now wear a button labeled "#SweetLikeJakub."

Credit: 10 Tampa Bay

"Jakub really embodied what we try to teach a lot of our employees," Pradera said.

His kindness is remembered by a memorial in the Plant City restaurant.

"It’s a huge loss because everybody loved them," Strawn said.

Love so many people in Plant City still feel.

"On the way to school on Monday, the sky was really pretty and one of my girls pointed out, that’s Alyssa’s outfit today. I said, 'You’re exactly right, that’s her shining through showing us she loves us,'" Strawn said.

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