Teens’ deaths shock community

By Staff
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Family and friends gathered last week to remember two Hartselle teens killed in a single-vehicle auto accident.
A single-vehicle accident three miles northeast of Falkville on South Cedar Cove Road claimed the lives of the two Hartselle girls Nov. 8, at approximately 9:15 p.m.
The victims were Emily Orr, 16, and Kelli Stewart, 17, both of Hartselle. Orr was a junior at Hartselle High School and Stewart was a senior home school student. Family members said the teens were good friends.
Emily Orr was driving north on the two-lane rural roadway when her car veered out of control, struck a culvert and wrapped around a tree. Stewart was a front seat passenger. Morgan County Coroner Russ Beard pronounced both of them dead at the scene. He said both suffered blunt force trauma.
According to a state troopers accident report, Orr was wearing a seat belt and Stewart wasn’t. The accident is still under investigation.
Chris Orr said his daughter had a talent for singing and would sing anytime she had the opportunity.
Emily was a third year member of the Hartselle High School Chorus. She also was on the track team and served as an office aide. She had been employed part-time at Oh! Bryan’s Restaurant for a couple of months. Her funeral was held Nov. 11 at Peck’s Funeral Home.
Services for Stewart were held the next day at Faith Chapel North Funeral Home in Cantonment, Fla.
According to school officials, Stewart enrolled at Hartselle High last school year after moving here with her family but opted to home school for her senior year.