‘The light of the school’: Tulsans mourn Webster High’s Aleena King with vigil and prayer

Aleena King’s friends say she was someone you heard before you saw. 

The 16-year-old junior at Webster High School favored oversized black flip flops, shoes that announced her in the hallways — not to mention her loud, joyful voice and sense of humor. She was the kind of friend who was always there, who could sense when you were down. You could never catch her with a bad day. 

“It was crazy how much Aleena could help someone, like that girl especially,” said classmate Jeremiah Tilley. “That girl was so special.” 

Aleena and six of her classmates were traveling home Monday from a state student council conference when their vehicle collided with a semi-truck on the Turner Turnpike, causing it to flip. Aleena and another student were ejected from the vehicle. She died Monday. 

Two days later, in a west side church, more than 100 of her friends and community members showed up for her. 

“Tonight, I want you to understand that Aleena mattered, her life mattered, her family matters, her friends matter,” Cognizant Church Pastor Bryan Scott told the crowd. “So if we need to cry tonight, let’s cry. If we need somebody to pray with you, let’s pray.” 

Since Monday’s crash, at least five of the other injured students have been treated and released from Tulsa-area hospitals. The other ejected student has stabilized, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, who are still investigating the crash. 

Prayers and support for the King family — and larger Webster community — are still pouring in statewide, including from Gov. Kevin Stitt. A fundraiser for the King family has already raised more than $15,000. Current and former teachers, congregants, classmates and friends mourned the loss Wednesday with song and candlelight, bathed in Webster-blue light. 

“It’s just, everybody’s coming together to help everybody,” Scott said. “So it’s just part of who we are over here.” 

Scott taught career tech at Webster, his alma mater, through last year. While he knew the Webster community was looking for a place to mourn, he didn’t expect a crowd that big. He wanted to assure Tulsans it’s OK to grieve and ask questions, including of God. 

“I don’t have the answers, I am just here to breathe with you and love you and help you through it,” Scott said. 

Parents Kayla and Jeff and brother Jayden didn’t recognize many in Wednesday’s crowd, but Aleena’s personality drew “everyone she met, everyone she knew,” Jeff said. 

“She was funny,” he added.

“Hilarious,” said Jayden.

Aleena was a student council leader and co-vice president of Webster’s Pacific Island Club, where she proudly celebrated her Polynesian and CHamoru heritage. She’d just gotten a car about a month ago, clocking in hours at a part-time job to help pay it off. 

Her friends want to paint the new parking spot. She was a “radiant young woman who embodied the best of our Webster family,” reads a memorial post from the school.

“She just was a bundle of joy — I mean, I know that’s kind of weird to say, but she was always just full of life,” said Alaina Fornal, an agriculture teacher at Webster. 

Despite not having Aleena in her courses, Fornal welcomed her to the classroom nearly every day to hang out with other students. Losing her is hitting the Webster community harder than people realize, Fornal said. 

“It’s just weird to think of what happened and now that she’s gone, but it’s going to be weird not seeing her come through the door every day,” Fornal said.  

It was strangely quiet in the halls Wednesday, said junior Lillian Wilson. She stayed home Tuesday, unable to sit in a class without Aleena there.  

“Nobody can say her name,” Wilson said. “We’re all kind of just trying to make it through, I guess.”

Wilson met Aleena as a new student at Webster last year, sitting in art class. Aleena immediately offered her a swig of her Monster. Class without her is like “turning off the button that makes me laugh,” Wilson said. 

“She was definitely the light of the school,” Wilson said. “Out of everybody it was definitely her.” 

The crowd lit dozens of candles in Aleena’s honor Wednesday night, some staring at the flame, protecting it from the wind, some leaning on and holding one another. 

As the night waned, attendees trickled out and friends stayed behind, huddled around her light. 

News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.