The Five

On January 22, 2023, five young people, on their way home to Sherwood, Arkansas after visiting Jackson Hole Bible College in Wyoming, were killed in a crash caused by an impaired, wrong-way driver. Two of those killed were Sylvan Hills High School students Susana “Suzy” Prime and Ava Luplow, both 18. Salomon Correa, 21, and Maggie Franco, 20, were recent graduates of the same high school. Salomon, Maggie, and Andrea Prime, (Suzy’s sister) 23, were all graduates of Jackson Hole Bible College.

Jackson Hole Bible College said in a statement, “Would you please keep their families in your prayers and also the staff and students here on campus? Also please pray that the gospel would go forth in a miraculous way through this difficult situation.” The Bible college revealed that the young adults had spent the week before the accident “sitting in on classes and getting to know this year’s student body, as well as catching up with staff who were previous classmates to the three of them. The statement goes on to say, “All five attended Faith Bible Fellowship, a church of beloved brothers and sisters in Christ whom we have come to love beyond words. It is with inexpressible joy that we tell you that our friends had placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. As a result, we know they are currently with Him, a reality we are quite envious of.”

“Our fellowship is mourning the loss of five of our young adults,” Faith Bible Fellowship posted on Facebook. The 100 to 125 member congregation were stunned and saddened by the tragic crash that claimed five young members. Elizabeth Dilts, current member of FBF said, “We’re going to miss them so much and they were such awesome kids. The families are grieving and are so upset, but we know the Bible tells us that as soon as we’re separated from our bodies, Jesus takes us and there’s no fear.”

The crash happened on Sunday just before 7 p.m. on Interstate 80, in Sinclair, Wyoming, east of Rawlins. Troopers said that about six minutes before the crash, they were notified about a wrong-way driver going east on the wrong side of the highway. Within minutes, the wrong-way driver in a Dodge Ram 3500 collided with a commercial truck and a passenger car. A second commercial truck tried avoiding the oncoming truck by swerving into the median, but the driver proceeded into the eastbound lanes and slammed head-on with Salomon’s F-150, causing both vehicles to burst into flames. The five were killed on impact. The second commercial truck’s driver was critically burned and spent months in the hospital. The driver of the Dodge Ram 3500 failed a sobriety test and admitted to using methamphetamine the previous day. He is facing 11 charges, including five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide.

Phil Prime, Andrea and Suzy’s father, said his family’s deep faith has prepared them to respond with compassion and forgiveness, not a desire for vengeance. “He did not ruin our lives,” Prime continued. “Yeah, our lives are changed permenantly. We take it one day at a time. But all five of those young people in that vehicle were believers in Christ and were Christians, and they would want their death to be for the Lord’s honor and glory, not some vehicle to … promote hate.” Like many other fathers would say in his place, Prime said he’d like just five minutes alone with the person who caused the crash that took five young lives. “I would love to have five minutes with him,” he said, “to share the gospel, to tell him I forgive him.”

More than 100 people, including Sylvan Hills High School students, unexpectedly showed up at Faith Bible Fellowship on Monday to join members of the church seeking solace in commemoration of the five. A meal was hastily provided and a gospel message was presented to offer the hope the five had—life after death through Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.

Sherwood Mayor Mary Jo Heyetownsell told KATV the city will provide their full support to everyone impacted. “No words can express the depths of that. Certainly we need to be ever vigilant in terms of their peers, their friends who are gonna be so impacted by this,” she said.

A combined funeral was held at Sylvan Hills High School Performing Arts Center on February 4th. Over 1000 people attended the funeral service, with many livestreaming across the country. A large number of people livestreamed from Mexico where Salomon’s home village is and where Andrea and Suzy’s family had served for years as missionaries. The funeral provided a wonderful opportunity to share the good news that these five’s eternal destination was and is secure—not because of any good works they did, but because of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross in their place so God could be just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

“Our thoughts are with the families and school community as they grieve the loss of such young lives,” the school said in a Facebook post. “You all will be greatly missed.”

Ava and Suzy were current employees of The Humble Crumb Bakery in Sherwood. Maggie had also worked there at one point and had family members currently working there. “We have ONE comfort and ONE hope and that is the comfort that comes only from God,” the bakery said on Facebook. “Ava and Suzy loved Jesus and they knew Jesus as their redeeming Savior. They wanted to serve Him with their lives and they were trusting in HIM for their salvation. They are now with Him in glory and while we suffer their loss, our hearts are also filled with hope.”

Their employers, Ruth Peters and her daughter-in-law, Betsy Peters, who attend Faith Bible Fellowship, closed the bakery for two weeks following the accident to give friends, family, and church members time to grieve. Ruth Peters made the statement, “They wanted attention to be brought to God, and I think that’s the goal of this.” Betsy Peters said she noticed Ava and Suzy have the same Bible verse on their Instagram accounts--Romans 8:18 which says, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us.” “I just couldn’t believe it because that’s what’s happening,” Betsy said, “God is being glorified through them and that’s what they wanted.”