(Photo of car) (Caption – A damaged 2009 ford F-150 pickup truck sits in a field near County raod 31 after a rollover crash. A 16-year-old Blair girl was killed in the crash.

Blair teen killed in rollover crash by Tammy Bain

A 16-year-old Blair girl was killed Wednesday afternoon in a one-vehicle rollover crash.

At about 4 p.m., Kennard and Blair volunteer fire and rescue departments were called to a personal injury accident on County Road 31, just south of CR P30.

The driver of a 2009 Ford F-150 pickup truck had lost control and rolled the vehicle into a field. The driver was ejected.

Authorities have identified the driver as Meagan Swets.

The person who reported the crash had not witnessed the accident, but rather drove by the scene, Capt. Kevin Willis of the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. It was unclear when the accident happened.

Swets was pronounced dead at the scene, Willis said.

A preliminary investigation indicates Swets was not wearing a seat belt, Willis said.

The accident remains under investigation.

Omaha World Herald 18 June 2015

16-year-old Blair girl dies in pickup truck wreck in Washington County

16-year-old Blair girl dies in pickup truck wreck in Washington County By Emerson Clarridge / World-Herald staff writer

A 16-year-old girl died Wednesday when the pickup truck she was driving crashed in Washington County, authorities said.

Meagan Swets, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the Ford pickup, Sheriff Mike Robinson said.

Swets was pronounced dead at the scene, on County Road 31, north of its intersection with County Road 34.

Swets was driving north on County Road 31 when she lost control of the pickup truck and rolled into a ditch about 4 p.m., Robinson said.

Authorities had not determined Swets' speed when she crashed. They do not suspect that she was under the influence of alcohol, Robinson said.

Posted on line: Monday, June 22, 2015; Published in The Pilot Tribune, Tuesday, June 23, 2015

(Photo of Meagan & mother)

Blair teen remembered for her smile, love of music by Tammy Bain

The lobby of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Community, a retirement facility and nursing home in Blair, was quiet late Thursday morning. A light rain fell outside. A picture of Jesus, holding his little lost lamb amongst his flock, hung on a wall.

Inside a conference-like room just off the lobby, Renae Nelsen, human resources director at the facility, spoke about Meagan Swets. The Blair 16-year-old, who worked as a dietary aide, died Wednesday afternoon in a rollover collision on County Road 31, just south of County Road P30, known as the “Kennard cut-off.”

It’s always difficult around here when someone dies, Nelsen said.

“But when it’s a young person, and there’s so much life left,” she said, her voice trailing off.

Swets’ friend, Aubree Carey, said that this was exactly how some Good Shepherd residents felt after learning about the girl’s death from TV news Wednesday night.

Carey said during a prayer service at Country Bible Church that one resident Swets always walked with in the hall sobbed “because she loved Meagan.”

When a resident wanted something that wasn’t on the dinner menu, Swets offered to grab it, even if another staff member was on hand to do so, Nelsen said.

Adrianna Smith, another friend who worked with Swets, remembered when a resident who never smiled turned down coffee from Swets. When Swets asked why, the resident responded, “I don’t know.”

“Well, that’s boring,” Smith remembered Swets saying. It was the first time Smith ever saw that resident laugh.

Instant friends

Carey and Swets met five years ago when Carey moved to Blair — the same way she became friends with Alyssa Vandeman, an incoming senior at Blair High School.

Swets’ friends group, which sat around her kitchen table Saturday morning, said friendship with Meagan was instant.

“They’re like sons and daughters to me,” Meagan’s mother, Christine Swets, said of the group. “They were always here when Meagan was here. I’d always find one of them on my couch.”

Swets’ sister, Kristen, an incoming eighth-grader at Otte Middle School, also became one of the group.

“She really just took her sister under her arm and took care of her,” Christine said. “She included her in everything.”

A flutist, Swets was involved in almost every kind of band and choir offered at school. She performed on worship teams. She joined a number of clubs and activities, and looked forward to auditioning for this year’s BHS musical, “Les Miserables.”

“She just wanted to try everything,” Christine said, calling Meagan “adventurous.”

Swets set her sights on a future in the medical field, already showing interest in a scholarship that Good Shepherd offers, with plans to soon become a certified nursing assistant.

“She was for the underdog,” Vicki Allen, a cook at Good Shepherd, said.

Recently, a mother of one girl who’s struggled with anxiety told Christine that Meagan always made sure her daughter felt included at school, she said.

When Cameron Moore, a 19-year-old freshman at Metropolitan Community College, was struggling with the deaths of his mother and brother, Meagan invited him to a bonfire. Moore had so much fun that he wanted to stay as long as he could.

Meagan’s father, Douglas, died in October. But she remained upbeat, Moore said. It inspired him.

“Some nights, it would be rough,” he said. “Some nights, it would hit us both. We just had to be there for each other.”

Moore was off to see his BHS friends’ choir concert one night when he invited his friend, Brad Felten.

Felten fell for Meagan immediately. Instead of leaving with Moore, he jumped in one girl’s car.

Soon, he and Meagan became a couple. The friends group played Cards Against Humanity, traveled and planned future trips to Canada, where Christine was raised and still has family.

Meagan made perfectly cooked eggs for breakfast. The friends shared homemade dinners — just like adults, they said.

When Felten was grounded from Meagan’s prom for school struggles, Moore “kidnapped” him so he could surprise her. Meagan helped Felten through the struggles, and screamed the loudest when he graduated, her friends said.

The two were in love, something Christine and Meagan’s friends attested.

Felten was the last of the group to hang out with her Wednesday.

Praying it wasn’t her

In October, Meagan and Carey attended the funeral services for another friend, Trent Hill, who was a grade behind them. Like Meagan, Hill was killed in a rollover accident and lived in Lakeland.

Swets always told her friends and family to wear their seat belts, the same lecture one teacher gave students before the summer.

“I don’t want a phone call this summer,” Carey remembers him saying.

Meagan didn’t show up for her work shift Wednesday, which was out of character. When they each found out, Meagan’s friends were in disbelief.

Allen thought she recognized on TV news the 2009 Ford F-150 that Swets received from her father when he died.

“I thought I knew it was (her),” Allen said. “I prayed it wasn’t.”

Preliminary investigation showed that Swets didn’t wear her seat belt, though the accident is still under investigation.

Hearing about seat belt safety is important, Christine said.

“But the thing is, Meagan always wore a seat belt,” she said. “That wasn’t the norm.”

‘True meaning of family’

The friends are still planning that trip to Canada, where they now know Christine’s parents. They’ll celebrate Meagan’s birthday on July 20 like they always have — with a trip to Adventureland in Iowa. They’ll think of Meagan at prom and graduation, and stay close to Christine and Kristen.

“She taught us the true meaning of family,” Moore said.

None of them doubt whether Meagan is in heaven. They’ve been reminded by a bright star they spotted while swimming, and by songs like “Stay,” which Meagan played on the piano and her friends belted out in the band room at school, and “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away.”

Other things aren’t so certain.

Katie Bartlett, an incoming senior at BHS, said Meagan helped her make life decisions.

“It’s still not real to me,” Kristen said. “It took me six months to realize my dad was actually gone. It’s going to take me longer with her.”

Nighttime rituals will also change. The sisters always got into bed. They each said, “I love you.” They each said, “Good night.”

Then, as of October, they said in unison, “We love you.”

Posted on line: Friday, June 19, 2015; Published in the Enterprise, Friday, June 19, 2015 & The Pilot Tribune Tuesday, June 23, 2015

(Photo) Meagan Rose Swets, 16

Funeral services for Meagan Rose Swets, age 16, of Blair will be held at 2:00 PM Monday, June 22, at Country Bible Church in Blair. Burial will be held Tuesday at 1:00 PM at the Middleburg Cemetery, Middleburg, Iowa. Visitation will be held Sunday, June 21, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Campbell-Aman Funeral Home in Blair. Meagan died Wednesday June 17, 2015.

Meagan Rose Swets was born on July 20, 1998, in Moses Lake, Washington to Douglas and Christine (Vos) Swets. The family moved to Blair, Nebraska when she was 2 and Meagan attended Blair Community schools. One of her biggest passions, which began at a very early age, was music. She was involved in band, marching band, show and concert choir, musicals and theater. She was also actively involved in her church and served on the Worship Team.

Megan was an excellent caregiver when her father fell ill. She also worked at Good Shepherd Lutheran Community where she loved her job and the people she served. Meagan enjoyed volunteering with the homeless at the Open Door Mission with her family. She will always be remembered as a very loving and caring person who was always there to help those who needed it.

Her friends will always remember her for her beautiful smile and her good advice.

Meagan is survived by her mother Christine Swets of Blair; brothers: Gordon Swets of Omaha and Nathan Swets of Blair; sister Kristen Swets of Blair; grandparents: Ernest and Rosalie Vos of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Mary Swets of Sioux Center, Iowa; aunts and uncles: Stacy (Carolyn) Anderson, Gord (Kim) Vos, Tyke (Missy) Swets, Chad (Cindy) Webb, Keith (Julie) Vanwaardhuizen, Mark (Paula) Jacobsma; special friend Bradley Felten and numerous cousins and friends.

She was preceded in death by her father Douglas Jay Swets and grandfather Delbert Swets.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~