STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University lost one of its happiest students, her classmates said.
Katherine Elizabeth “Katie Beth” Carruth, 21, died Friday evening in a single-car accident just south of Okolona, as she was returning to her home in Tupelo after completing classes at MSU earlier in the day.
According to the Monroe County Coroner’s office, Carruth was traveling north on US 45 Alternate when she lost control of her 1996 Ford Explorer, which overturned. Carruth was ejected from the vehicle during the crash, and died at the scene. Alone in the vehicle, Carruth was not wearing her seatbelt.
Coroner Alan Gurley said skid marks indicated Carruth did not strike any object, but she simply lost control of the vehicle.
The news of Carruth’s death quickly spread among her circle of friends, both at MSU, where she was a junior majoring in Human Science, and in her native Tupelo.
“She was probably the happiest person I ever met,” said Ryan Rhea, a classmate of Carruth’s at both Tupelo High School and MSU.
“Oh my gosh, she was just so upbeat all the time,” said MSU student Claire Johnson. “And she was extremely goofy, always up for anything.”
Michelle Cleveland, who graduated with Carruth from Tupelo High School in 2009, was her roommate at MSU last year and remained one of her closest friends.
“Joyful, that was Katie Beth,” Cleveland said. “She loved to laugh and make other people laugh, too. She loved to sing; she was always going around singing. She taught herself to play the guitar. When she found out that somebody played the guitar, she was after them immediately to get them to show her what they knew.”
Carruth’s visitation, held Sunday evening in Tupelo, had to be extended by almost two hours, because of the number of friends who wanted to extend their sympathies to the family.
“It was just unbelievable,” Cleveland said. “There were people from Tupelo High that we went to high school with that I didn’t even remember. But everybody remembered Katie Beth. She had that kind of effect on people.”
Cleveland said Carruth had taken her last final exam for the semester earlier Friday and packed up her old Ford Explorer to return home. Cleveland said Carruth looked forward to spending the summer with her dad and three younger siblings.
“It’s so devastating for her family,” Cleveland said. “Katie Beth lost her mom when she was, like, five-years-old and her grandfather on her dad’s side died about two months ago. So her dad is just reeling from all this.”
Cleveland said many of her friends gathered at a restaurant after the visitation to share stories of the girl who always seemed to be laughing.
“I guess the best memory I have of her was when I was playing intramural soccer last year,” Johnson said. “We were trying to make the playoffs, but for one game we knew we were going to be a couple of players short.
“Katie Beth said she would show up, just so we would have enough players. Well, she had never played soccer in her life. Watching her try to play soccer was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. After a while, everybody on both teams was laughing. And Katie Beth was laughing the loudest of all.”
Cleveland said the impact of Carruth’s death hasn’t been fully realized.
“It’s like we’re all just waiting for Katie Beth to show up and tell us some goofy joke and hear her laugh her head off,” she said.
A celebration of life service was held for Carruth yesterday at Orchard Methodist Church in Tupelo.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
