'I don't even know how to describe the pain,' says victim's mom

Jersey Mitchell is being remembered by her family as a feisty young woman with an "awesome" sense of humour who loved cheerleading and doing whatever she could to help others. 

Mitchell, 20, was one of the six young people who was killed in a single-vehicle crash along a rural road near County Road 27 and McKay Road in south-end Barrie. The vehicle was located around 2 a.m., Sunday, but the investigation continues into what happened.

"I don't even know how to describe the pain," her mother, Erin Mitchell, told BarrieToday on Sunday. "It's the worst pain I've felt in my entire life. We're just trying to get through and remember that she'd want us not to forget her, but she wouldn't want us..."

"She wouldn't want us to grieve the way that we are," said Carla King, the young woman's aunt. "She would want us to be strong for her."

Jersey has one brother, Hunter, who is a year younger, and a baby brother, Benson, who will soon turn two years old. 

"She was so protective," said her mom. 

Erin Mitchell said her daughter was very funny and had many friends. 

"She was so funny, an awesome sense of humour," Mitchell added. "She was a person that, even though she was my daughter, I could just talk to her. The best friends a mother and daughter could be. She was kind to everybody and loved animals.

"She loved her friends and would go out of her way to help any of her friends. And she loved her brothers," said Mitchell. 

"She had many, many friends who all loved her," said King. "She couldn't say possibly she had one best friend or two — she had many best friends. Her soul was as beautiful as her body. She was a beautiful young lady."

Jersey, who attended Barrie North Collegiate in her high-school years, was heavily involved in cheerleading through the Stingrays organization in Barrie for about the last eight years, her family said. 

"Her team won so many awards, in competitions down in the States and up in Canada," said her mom. "She loved the family... and the fact that every girl always felt welcome. It was not just a team, it was sisters."

Jersey had plans to attend Georgian College in January to take courses in health and science, they said. 

"She was up in the air (about what she wanted to do), but she wanted to help people," Mitchell said. "She wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to do."

While BarrieToday has chosen not to publish the names of the victims until they can be confirmed, one of the other victims has been identified as Luke West. 

The police investigation into what happened is ongoing. It occurred in a construction area near McKay Road and County Road 27.