How loved ones are remembering Cary teenager killed in car crash
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Green Hope High School sophomore Lena Goff was killed in a car crash Friday.
- The Cary community has raised almost $100,000 to support her mother, Erica Jaber.
- The teen driver in the crash has been charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle.
Supporters have raised almost $100,000 to help a Cary mother after her 15-year-old daughter was killed in a Friday car crash.
Cary police were called to the intersection of Louis Stephens Drive and Morrisville Parkway around 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to a news release.
Lena Goff, a sophomore at nearby Green Hope High School, was fatally injured when the car she was riding in crashed, according to ABC11, The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner.
The teenage driver of a Honda Civic had failed to yield while turning left onto Louis Stephens Drive, crashing into a Jeep Cherokee, police said. Goff was one of four passengers in the Civic and died at the hospital.
The driver, who police won’t identify because of their age, was charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle. In North Carolina, criminal records for minors are not public record unless they are 16 or 17 and charged with a Class A-E felony, according to the UNC School of Government.
The three other passengers were taken to the hospital, where one remained as of Sunday afternoon, according to police.
A Gofundme for Goff’s mother, Erica Jaber, had raised more than $97,000 of its $100,000 goal as of Monday afternoon. Jaber, who the fundraiser described as a single mother, owns a hair salon in Morrisville, according to the salon’s website.
Public social media posts from Goff’s friends and loved ones described her as a kindhearted soul who loved boba tea, wrestling and choir. The high school girls’ wrestling team had a match at 4 p.m. Friday, according to the school’s athletics website, but it’s unclear if Goff was participating.
In a Facebook post Monday to a public memorial page, Goff’s choir teacher, Allen Botwick, said she’d recently volunteered to lead a chorus club at a local middle school and wanted to learn to conduct.
“Lena was a bright light in our community,” he wrote. “She advocated for kindness, compassion, and joy while singing.”
Botwick attached a video of what he said was Goff’s favorite choral piece, “Hold Fast to Dreams” by Susan LaBarr.
“The song encouraged us to chase after our dreams,” he wrote. “It doesn’t surprise me this was Lena’s favorite song because it really exemplified the gift she gave to us every day.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM.
