Funeral Sunday for Cherokee teen killed in wreck

Services will be held Sunday for a Cherokee County teenager who died in a wreck just days before her high school graduation.

The funeral for Shania Lucille Boettcher has been scheduled for 3 p.m. June 1 at His Hands Church in Woodstock, according to Sosebee Funeral Home, which is handling arrangements.

Lucy, as she was known to everyone, was one of two people killed Tuesday night in a single-vehicle accident that shut down several lanes of I-285 in Dunwoody.

The wreck happened about 8:30 p.m. when the driver of a Ford Explorer lost control of the SUV, which rolled several times, according to Dunwoody police. One passenger was completely ejected and another was partially ejected, authorities said. Boettcher and 22-year-old Darius Valcarcel died at the scene, police said.

The driver of the SUV and another passenger were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.

An 18-year-old senior at Etowah High, Lucy was days away from graduating with honors from the Woodstock school. Etowah's graduation was Friday at First Baptist Church of Woodstock, and the crowd applauded and stood to its feet as Lucy's 15-year-old brother accepted his sister's diploma, according to Channel 2 Action News.

“I know she’s in a better place,” Sam Boettcher told Channel 2. “She’s in Heaven.”

His Hands Church is at 550 Molly Lane.