Outside Studio 1 Dance Company sits Erica Lanier's obituary.
It was at that studio where Lanier worked to hone young ladies into gifted, confident dancers before she was killed in a car crash last week.
Now, the studio is setting up a scholarship in the Spelman College student’s name to help other young ladies take lessons at the studio.
“She’s the reason why I am the dancer I am today,” Emma Kateherchog, a dancer at the studio, told Channel 2 Action News. “She’s the reason why I am the person I am today. Not only did she teach me dance, she taught me how to be kind.”
Lanier was killed July 26 in a suspected DUI crash involving best friend Alexis Sims. According to Atlanta police, Sims lost control of the car, left the road and crashed into a utility pole and a fence. Lanier died at the scene.
Sims was recently released from the hospital and booked and released from the Fulton County jail on vehicular homicide, DUI and failure to maintain lane charges.
News of Lanier’s death struck young dancer Naomi Myers to her core.
“When I found out I felt like I was torn in half,” she told Channel 2. “I felt so sad for the family and I felt like it was going to affect so many people.”
Lanier’s funeral was Tuesday, but studio owner Caryn Herzog told the news station she wants the woman’s legacy to live on.
“Erica’s name is going to live on,” she said. “Her love is going to continue to grow and her legacy is going to live forever.”
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