Highway Patrol

Santa Clarita High School Student Killed in Car Crash While Jogging

Drugs and alcohol were not factors in the crash, the CHP says

Members of a Santa Clarita high school community on Tuesday mourned the loss of a 17-year-old student who was killed in a car crash while jogging the night before.

Saugus High School senior Jennifer Stift died at 8:30 p.m. Monday , a Hart Union School District spokeswoman said.

"Jennifer was a popular student and well-liked by many here at Saugus," Saugus High School Principal Bill Bolde wrote in a letter to parents. "Many have lost a best friend. All of us have lost a Centurion family member."

Stift was jogging in her Santa Clarita neighborhood, about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, when she was hit by a car, according to the CHP. She died at a hospital.

The car's driver was a 17-year-old boy. He was not arrested nor charged and alcohol nor drugs were a factor in the crash, officials said. But the investigation into what caused the crash was ongoing, officials said.

Stift was a member of her school’s swim team and theater program, according to the school district.

Counselors and psychologists were available at the school Tuesday, Bolde said.

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