Gardendale Teenager, Katie Burkett Funeral

Lisa Crane
Published: July 23, 2008

Final farewells today for a Gardendale teenager killed in a tragic accident over the weekend. The funeral for 17 year old Katie Burkett is being held today at Gardendal First Baptist Church.

A huge crowd turned out to say goodbye. Burkett was going into her Senior year at Gardendale High School. She was a cheerleader and Senior Class President.

The 17 year old was killed in a single car crash Sunday morning. She and 4 other teens were headed to the beach when they swerved to avoid something in the road and flipped several times on I-65 in Calera.

Gardendale is a close knit community with a population of about 12,000 people, which makes the death even more tragic. Brenda Sanderson, a long time family friend, said, “This is a community that celebrates together and mourns together. That’s evidence today by the crowd that turned out today for Katie’s funeral.

The 4 other teens, including Katie’s cousin, who were also in the vehicle, were all injured but are expected to be okay.