Friends mourn NCCU senior killed in crash

Shocked and sad were the words most often used on the Durham campus of North Carolina Central University on Wednesday as students learned of the death of Chekeria Renae Reid.

“The mood today on campus is really quiet. It’s not the normal day for students around here,” said sophomore Brooke Wright.

Reid, a 22-year-old senior from Greensboro, was killed in a crash Tuesday evening on Highway 55 near Crete Street Tuesday evening.

Known as "Keke," she was a team manager for both the football and women's basketball teams. She was in the car with a football player, sophomore Tariq Jamal Jacobs, 19, of Norfolk, at the time of the crash.

Investigators said Jacobs swerved across the center line in his 2000 Honda Accord and collided with a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt driven by Joshua Clark, 27.

Both men were hospitalized, but authorities said they expected both to live. Reid died on impact.

On Wednesday, the campus held a memorial service and grief counselors were called into action.

“When tragedies like this happen, everybody comes together, and we just support the grieving people – the families and the football players in this case,” Wright said.

Raven Brooks, Reid's hairstylist, remembered a girl who was always smiling.

"She was happy. Everybody knew her as a happy person. She was very work-oriented," Brooks said.

Sophomore Jasmine Davis said even teachers were affected.

“In class, we got out early," she said. "Everybody is really sad about it."

"It wakes you up because tomorrow is not promised," Davis said.