Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
ALTON - After word of her untimely demise reached the news and social media feeds Sunday, friends and family of 21-year-old Katie Bunt began memorializing her at the scene of her tragic end.
Flowers were left where the suspected vehicle was said to have hopped a curb before attempting to escape the scene. A sign on the sidewalk of Belle Street is also now adorned with some of the young woman's favorite things, including hoops and Hello Kitty.
"She loved hooping, her cats and Hello Kitty," sister Tori Bunt said Sunday afternoon. "She loved her friends and family more than she loved herself, and really loved anything from the 90s."
Friends who gathered near the makeshift memorial want people to know Katie Bunt was more than the circumstances leading to her end. Friend, Chris Hawk, said she put others first at all times and was the life of the party.
"There was never a dull moment when Katie was around," he said. "I've never been around Katie and not been laughing. She was literally the life of the party."
Katie Bunt's life ended tragically in the early hours of Sunday morning when a car drove into a group including her and her friends with what is alleged to be malicious intent. It is not known if Katie Bunt was the target of that alleged attack at this time.
Her sister, mother, family and friends were gathering around that memorial Sunday to remember how she lived and the joy she brought to all of their lives in the time they had her.
"If you saw her, she made your day," friend Margaret Carrigan said. "She was our little hippie, but she was cute."
A Bethalto man is currently in custody and awaiting charges at this time regarding that incident. More information will be released as authorities make it available.
