MARBLEHEAD, Mass. — Hundreds of community members held a vigil on Devereux Beach Sunday night, surrounding the family of 13-year-old Savannah Gatchell, who was killed in a car crash Tuesday morning.
Family, neighbors, friends, classmates, and more were led by local faith leaders in prayer around pictures of the Marblehead student.
The tearful tribute ended with those close to Gatchell releasing flowers into the ocean.
“It’s just an unspeakable tragedy,” said Diana Aniello, the parent of one of Gatchell’s classmates. “We can only learn from these things and move forward.”
Katie Cooper, Gatchell’s neighbor, added, “We need to put all of our differences aside, and just love this family so much because Savannah is an angel to so many people... Just love hard, because that’s the only solution.”
The Essex County District Attorney’s office said a 16-year-old boy was arraigned on Wednesday. He faces charges including motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation, receiving a stolen motor vehicle, and OUI.
Their office is still investigating the incident.
Marblehead schools are back in session this Wednesday. The district told Boston 25 last week that they’d have additional resources on hand for students.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
