Mt. Pleasant teen dies Saturday in auto accident

By Rhett Wilkinson

Staff writer

7-23-2020

A North Sanpete High School cheerleader was killed Saturday an auto accident, but other than the fact that the crash occurred in Sanpete County, few details have come out.

The Messenger was unable to find out Tuesday how or where the accident happened. And Sanpete County Attorney Kevin Daniels said that the crash is “more” than that and could involve criminal charges.

“The crash is under investigation,” Daniels said later.

Tribute was paid to Sharlee on the North Sanpete Hawks Facebook page.

“When you have to say goodbye to someone you care about, be thankful. Be thankful that you met them. Be thankful that you got the chance to know them. Be thankful that you got the chance to have them in your life, if only for a moment,” the tribute read.

“We are indeed grateful to have had Sharlee in our lives, but sad they can now only be memories. It is hard to know the words to say—but hope she knew how much she was loved, and boy, was she loved. The world is a little darker without her. Love you, Sharlee. We miss you already.”

Lisa Thompson Collard of Fountain Green has set up a GoFundMe page for the Sorensen family in the wake of Sharlee’s death. As of Tuesday, she had raised $11,364 from 200 donors. The goal for the effort was $10,000.

“Sharlee was … such a sweet, beautiful girl,” Collard wrote. “Jeannie (Sorensen, Sharlee’s mom) has been battling Stage-4 cancer since October. Medical bills for Jeannie and now for Sharlee, plus funeral expenses, are becoming overwhelming.”

“Any time you have a classmate that dies, it’s incredibly difficult,” said Ben Cox, a counselor at North Sanpete High School. “(Counselors) are there to support everybody, but sometimes, (students) do not always reach out to us … We offered to be available on Zoom as well, I did … so I know they’re struggling, I just don’t know to the extent and don’t know what to do exactly to be able to connect with them …These tragedies have a huge impact on kids and it will impact them throughout the years.”