| March 16, 2009 Town mourns teen killed in tragic accident
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(NECN: Jennifer Eagan, Harvard, Mass.) - Residents in Harvard, Massachusetts are remembering a teenage girl killed in a tragic accident this weekend. The young girl died when a tree fell on her as she was relaxing outside after doing some chores.
Friends say field hockey, lacrosse, and art were the loves of 14 year old Jessie Peterson of Harvard.
Monday, the close-knit community came together to remember the high school freshman
Jessie was clearing brush with her mother in the backyard of their East Bare Hill Road home on Saturday.
They decided to rest on a hammock.
Harvard police chief Edward Denmark says that's when one of the trees connected to the hammock came crashing down on top of the two, hitting Jessie on the head.
Jessie was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center where she was later pronounced dead.
Family members say Jessie’s mother is recovering at a local hospital.
High school principal Jim O’Shea says Jessie was one of just over one hundred members of the freshman class. A vibrant student who was popular with peers and staff.
Her classmates painted a rock in front of the school with Jessie’s name and wrote messages to the friend who was taken from them all too soon.
Principal O'Shea says the school's thoughts and prayers are with the Peterson family...we're told Jessie also had a younger brother in the elementary school.
Grief counselors will remain on hand at the high school on
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