Samara Stricklen spent the last moments of her life putting a friend’s welfare before her own.
As an off-duty police officer rendered aid to the 17-year-old at the scene of last week’s car crash, she told him to tend to her injured friend, Seth Mutschler, who was driving.
“Please, help Seth first,” she said.
On Monday, hundreds gathered at Stricklen’s funeral to remember the Bear Creek High School student, described as a true example of the biblical good Samaritan, for whom her parents named her.
Her friends and family wore her favorite colors – black and white, with accents of pink – in men’s ties and women’s headbands.
Stricklen’s casket was lined with pink satin and a black-and-white border, along with photographs of her friends and family.
Stricklen was killed March 13 while riding in a car driven by Mutschler. The car collided with a sport utility vehicle driven by a 16-year-old girl, who Lakewood police say was driving drunk.
The Jefferson County district attorney is expected to file criminal charges against the girl today.
The girl’s blood-alcohol content was high enough to support a charge of driving under the influence, said police spokesman Steve Davis. He declined to release the specific results of her blood-alcohol test.
Mutschler, 20, remains in critical condition at St. Anthony Central Hospital. Friends prayed for his recovery during Stricklen’s funeral at Bear Creek Church.
During the service, the Rev. Aric Ran dolph told mourners that Stricklen was a special girl.
“There is no greater love than someone who is willing to give up their life for her friends, and that was Samara,” Randolph said.
Most of the service was conducted in sign language with a translator because Stricklen’s parents and many of their friends are deaf.
Stricklen’s friends told stories about the pranks and jokes she was known for, including persuading a boy to try on a dress at a girl’s clothing store and calling another boy a leprechaun because she thought his hands were so small.
Her parents, Bill and Michelle Stricklen, urged teenagers to stay away from alcohol and announced that they have set up a foundation in their daughter’s name to combat underage drinking.
Randolph cited statistics that he said show 90 percent of high-school senior girls and 50 percent of senior boys drink alcohol.
“Life is so short,” Randolph said. “It’s precious. It’s priceless. Is it worth one sip of pleasure to destroy someone’s life?”
Donations to the Samara Strick len Teen Foundation can be made at any Wells Fargo Bank branch.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
MOURNING SAMARA
“Life is so short. It’s precious. It’s priceless. Is it worth one sip of pleasure to destroy someone’s life?”
The Rev. Aric Randolph
