(Gray News) – Tragedy struck when a 16-year-old Taylor Swift superfan was killed while on the way to the megastar’s concert in Australia Thursday afternoon.
According to 7 News Australia, Mieka Pokarier was traveling with her mother and sister as part of an 11-day road trip, when their SUV collided with a semi-trailer around 6 p.m. in Melbourne.
Mieka, who was in the passenger seat died on the scene, police said. However, the teen’s 10-year-old sister is in critical condition. Their mother was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Since the devastating accident, tributes have poured in for Mieka. The teen’s godmother Karleigh Fox told the Sydney Morning Herald she was “vivacious and very cheeky.”
“She just had this sparkle in her eye. And it sounds really cliche, but she was just a really beautiful person who was very thoughtful,” Fox said. “When they heard Taylor Swift was touring, it was all they could talk about. They had five family members online, refreshing pages for up to eight hours to get tickets.”
Swift is in Melbourne for the Australia leg of her global “Eras Tour.” And for Mieka and her sister, the main purpose of the trip was to see the award-winning singer in Melbourne and Sydney.
The tragedy follows the death of Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the woman who was killed at a Super Bowl victory parade of the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday. Taylor Swift made two $50,000 donations to a GoFundMe page, CNN reports.
A family friend has since set up a GoFundMe page to help the family. She has given several updates since the accident.
“Last night one of my dearest friends was driving from the Gold Coast to Melbourne with two of her children (my godchildren) when they were involved in a front-on collision with a semi-trailer,” Fern Burgertown wrote.
As of Sunday, Freya remained in the hospital with swelling on her brain and organ damage, according to the GoFundMe page. She also has a broken leg and a damaged pelvis.
So far the family has raised $69,399.
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