COVINGTON, Ky. -- The community mourns the loss of a teenager and his grandmother after they died Thursday afternoon in a single-car crash.
Sixty-one-year-old Naomi Miller and her 16-year-old grandson, Jordan Miller, were dead when authorities discovered their car lying upside-down in a creek near Wayman Branch Road and Rockwood Drive, Covington police said.
Julie Bick was one of the first passersby to arrive at the scene, where she said the only survivor of the wreck -- another 16-year-old boy -- flagged her down, sobbing and begging for help. While another person attempted to save the Millers from their car, she said she tried to find a tool that would help with the rescue effort.
"You feel so helpless," she said. "I was running from car to car (asking) ‘Does anybody have scissors, a knife, anything?'"
Jordan Miller was a student at Scott High School, where crisis counselors were on hand Friday to help his friends and classmates process his death.
"Obviously our thoughts and prayers are with the family of this student," said Jess Dykes, a spokesperson with Kenton County schools. The other boy involved in the crash was a friend of Miller's, Dykes said.
Thomas McDaniel, one of Naomi Miller’s neighbors, said the Independence neighborhood was shocked to hear about her death.
“They're courteous to everyone around here,” McDaniel said. “They mind their own business, but they're very, very nice to everyone around here.”
Police said they believed that Thursday's rain and wind along with road conditions were the primary causes of the crash.
"After a dry spell, we can pretty much guarantee that we're going to be up here for traffic collisions," said Lt. Col. Brian Steffen.
The boy who survived the crash suffered only minor injuries, police said.
