Mail Tribune News - Victim of ATV wreck was highly regarded at alternative school

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

2000-09-14

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Victim of ATV wreck was highly regarded at alternative school A 17-year-old Talent girl killed in an all-terrain vehicle accident Friday night was set to graduate from a Medford alternative school this summer, where a teacher described her as a favorite, hard-working student who was well-regarded by peers. Sherri Leann Wiseman, 17, of Talent, would have graduated in August from CrossRoads. She died at about 6:41 p.m. Friday in the wreck, which happened in a field about an eighth of a mile northeast of Table Rock Road and Bateman. Although the accident report wasn't completed Saturday, police say she had driven the four-wheel ATV into a drainage ditch, and the ATV flipped and landed on top of her. A friend ran for help, and a nearby worker helped pull the vehicle off Wiseman. She was pronounced dead at the scene. John Doty, one of Wiseman's teachers at CrossRoads, said Wiseman was a former Crater High School student who would have graduated from CrossRoads after completing a summer session this August. She was planning to work on her senior project this summer. "She was actually one of our favorite students," Doty said. Doty, who taught Wiseman in history and study hall, said she had a good focus and work ethic, and it was out of character for her to miss school. She put tremendous effort into getting work done, and was a "phenomenal writer" whose English teacher raved about her work, Doty said. He also said she had an "off-beat" sense of humor, and that she had purple hair most of the year. He said he couldn't think of anybody who had a negative view of her. "She was one of the students I looked forward to seeing every day," he said. Doty said Wiseman's death would hit the students hard at the school, where final exams are scheduled for this week. "I would guess our remaining four days will be in a trance," he said. Mail Tribune Copyright �  The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA