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some people were asking in the book how marybeth has died and some found it annoyingly rude, this page is so you can read what had happened march 11th and to know how much support she and her family have been recieving
tiffany tanner, died in a boating accident
in germany, late february
friends of mb
more friends of mb
corner of portland and jersey
kerri-lea, murdered march second
DAILY NEWS. -TOP STORY
DARTMOUTH - More than 100 grieving teenagers gathered yesterday at a Dartmouth intersection where a beloved friend was hit by a car Saturday evening.
Sixteen-year-old Mary Elizabeth Chaulk of Dartmouth died in hospital yesterday morning. Two crosses, smothered in bouquets of flowers, marked the crosswalk at Portland Street and Jersey Drive where the Prince Andrew High School student was struck.
Ferne Wynnyk, 16, said it felt like her world stopped when she heard the news. She rushed with friends to the hospital Saturday night.
"I stood in there and I held her hand," Wynnyk said. "I gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"You don't know what to think. You just want to stay. You want to just open her eyes and wake up."
It was the first day of March break. Wynnyk said Chaulk, who was called Mary-Beth, and a group of friends had hung out Friday night. The Grade 11 student loved country music: They would go for drives, roll down the windows and turn up the tunes.
"She touched everyone. She's my best friend," Brad Wells, whispered yesterday. "Her happiness touched everyone, every day. I can't believe she's gone."
Some of her favourite country stars were Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, said Wells. On Thursday, he said, they'd gone to Rainbow Haven beach. Chaulk took pictures as her friends rushed into the water.
Wells said the teen wanted to be a doctor: "She wanted to help people."
Police are still investigating the fatal accident, Sgt. Dave Reynolds said yesterday. Chaulk was struck about 6 p.m. Saturday as she crossed Portland Street. Pedestrians can push a button to activate yellow lights at the crosswalk, signalling for traffic to stop.
The teen played hockey for both her high-school team and the Dartmouth Whalers Midget Flyers.
The Flyers coach left it up to her teammates, all boys, to decide if they wanted to play a tournament game yesterday.
"They all wanted to play for her," Dave Webster said. "They did. Right now, they're playing the rest of this tournament for her. We all are. We're all playing it for her."
He said he was overwhelmed by gestures from other teams. One coach, he said, is buying a trophy in her honour. Another team all signed a card for the family.
"I did my share of crying for the kids, and for her, today," he said.
Prince Andrew High School will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today for students and teachers to drop in, said school board spokesman Doug Hadley. Six counsellors will be on hand.
At the memorial on Portland Street, beside a grassy clearing, a tiny radio was tuned to a local country station.
"She's our angel now," said Wynnyk. "She's gorgeous."
CHRONICLE HERALD.
As 16-year-old Mary Elizabeth Chaulk lay fatally injured at the Halifax Infirmary on Saturday night, her grieving parents offered one last chance for friends who love her to say goodbye.
"There were probably 50 to 100 there," said Gretchen Pohlkamp, a family friend who went to the hospital after learning the tragic news of the teenager’s condition. "There were a lot of people. They were lining the hall and sitting on the (floor).
"And (her) parents were so generous to let everyone go in and say goodbye."
Mary Elizabeth, known to her friends as Mary Beth, died Sunday morning. She had been struck by a vehicle at about 6 p.m. Saturday in a marked crosswalk that spans Dartmouth’s five-lane Portland Street at Jersey Drive. Friends said she was on her way home from a nearby car dealership where she worked part time.
Halifax Regional Police were still investigating the incident Sunday and no charges had been laid against the female driver of the vehicle, according to Staff Sgt. James Perrin.
No one from Mary Beth’s family could be reached for comment.
Ms. Pohlkamp, manager of the Dartmouth Whalers bantam A hockey team, knew the Chaulk family from hockey. Mary Beth is the older sister of one of the Whalers team members and played hockey with Ms. Pohlkamp’s son.
Ms. Pohlkamp echoed comments from other parents of Mary Beth’s friends who called the devastating loss unimaginable.
Young people mourned her loss Sunday. Some wrote messages on a website. "God must be needing an angel," wrote one girl.
"I remember that you had a beautiful smile," someone else wrote.
Others gathered throughout the day near the crosswalk where Mary Beth was hit. At one point, an observer said the crowd numbered about 80. They placed flowers nearby, comforted one another and talked about their friend. They described her as bright, beautiful and athletic and said she played hockey and ringette and was once a cheerleader.
After placing a bouquet near the pedestrian sign at the crosswalk, Tyler Park said Mary Beth, his friend since they were in Grade 4 at Bel Ayr School, was joyful and could lift anyone’s spirits. He said she was very smart and could have been or done anything she wanted.
"She made me such a happy person. Just to be around her made me feel amazing."
Although they were both Grade 11 students at Prince Andrew High, they didn’t share a homeroom. Still, Tyler said, he saw her every day.
"Every morning she would walk down the hallway and give me a wave."
Alyssa Martin, 17, said she met Mary Beth when they were in Grade 5, when Mary Beth’s family moved to her block.
"She was the kind of girl everybody liked," Alyssa remembered. "She was so fun, so nice and so pretty. She was nice to everyone. I don’t know anyone who didn’t like her."
Alyssa said she often travels Portland Street to and from Dartmouth High School and to her job. A couple of months ago, she said, another friend of hers was struck but not seriously injured by a car as she attempted to cross at an intersection about a kilometre from where Mary Beth was hit.
"It’s just Portland Street has gotten out of control," she said. "People drive way too fast. There’s tons of pedestrian crosswalks and it’s just not safe."
Coun. Bill Karsten (Portland-East Woodlawn), whose district includes part of Portland Street, declined to comment on the roadway. But after paying his respects at the corner, he extended his thoughts to the family and said he knows many people "are shocked and saddened" by what occurred.
But a parent of one of Mary Beth’s friends said he’s been concerned about the traffic on Portland Street ever since he moved into the area in 1988. He’s been especially concerned about crosswalks not located at intersections — they have overhead lights to signal that someone is in them, but no stop-and-go traffic lights.
He said he’s warned his own children about them.
"I’ve preached to them since they were kids about not crossing that street," he said. "We’ve always been concerned about Portland Street."
The man, who preferred his name not be used, said it might be time to consider overhead pedways in the area.
"Maybe it’s time we review some of these crosswalks. With a four- to six-lane highway there, and the traffic coming both ways pretty quickly, all it takes is one driver not watching."
The father said he can’t imagine what Mary Beth’s family is going through.
The kids "are all devastated by this. We’re all devastated by it. It just seems so unnecessary."
A crowd of 50 to 60 young people gathered at the accident scene Sunday night for a candlelight vigil.
Halifax regional school board spokesman Doug Hadley said Prince Andrew High School, which would normally be closed for March break, will be open today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Six grief counsellors will be on hand to talk to students.
"The administration feels very strongly that they need to have a place for students to gather if they want to gather and also any students that are experiencing any type of difficulty can be able to talk to somebody who’s trained to handle grief," Mr. Hadley said.
MORE FROM CHRONICLE ON KERRI-LEA, TIFFANY TANNER & MARYBETH CHAULK
Mary Beth Chaulk was the third young girl from the Dartmouth area lost in tragic circumstances in recent weeks.
And in a heartbreaking twist of fate, all three are connected to the Dartmouth Whalers bantam A hockey team of 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls.
"We’ve had significant trauma for the kids in the last three weeks," said Gretchen Pohlkamp, the hockey team’s manager, whose son is a team member.
"It’s quite devastating."
On March 8, the body of Tiffany Tanner was pulled from a canal in Germany where the competitive kayaker was last seen Feb. 20.
The 20-year-old suffered cardiac arrest after she fell into the water near the end of a training session in Hamm, where she worked as an au pair.
Tiffany’s younger brother and Mary Beth’s younger sister both play for the Whalers.
Sixteen-year-old Mary Beth, who played hockey herself, came to the rink with her sister all the time and was so involved "she was like one of the team," Ms. Pohlkamp said.
As well, she said, three or four team members went to school with Kerri-Lea Dixon of Eastern Passage, who was found March 2 murdered by a man who then committed suicide.
Ms. Pohlkamp said the unimaginable tragedies are difficult to bear, but she said the players and their parents are like a family.
They’ve already rallied to show their support for Tiffany’s family.
In fact, Mary Beth’s mother was one of the people who helped raise money for the family’s travel costs, she said.
Ms. Pohlkamp said the team members must draw on their strength once again. She offered the team’s prayers and support to Mary Beth’s family.
"We’ll pull together and do everything we can to help the Chaulks," she said.
