Mother says daughter, 15, took her car keys while she was asleep then died in crash

PHOENIX (KTVK/KPHO/Gray News) - An Arizona mother is at a loss after she says her unlicensed 15-year-old daughter took her car keys while she was asleep then died when she crashed into a tree.

Stacy Stembridge’s 15-year-old daughter Ana Marie died in a car crash around 4:15 a.m. Saturday. Police say the unlicensed teenager drove off the road and crashed into a tree in Phoenix, AZ Family reports.

“She was funny. She could make people laugh. .. She was just cute. She had that cute personality, and everybody loved being around her,” Stembridge said.

The mother says Ana Marie took her keys and drove off in her car while she was asleep — something she never thought would happen.

“I started crying and going, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe it.’ I’m numb and in shock that it’s her,” Stembridge said.

In a post on GoFundMe, she says the teen was going 90 mph when she crashed. Her boyfriend, who was in the car with her, was hospitalized in critical condition with injuries that include two broken legs and a broken collarbone.

Stembridge said Ana Marie had just begun learning to drive from a friend days earlier and worries that gave her the confidence to take her car.

“I think that’s what started it, him (a friend) teaching her how to drive, and all of a sudden, she took my car,” she said.

The mother is now urging other parents with kids without licenses to consider hiding or locking away car keys. It’s something she wishes she did.

“I wake up, and I’m crying. It’s not a dream. It’s true. My baby’s gone,” she said. “I love you, Ana Marie. I’m going to miss you.”

Police said the crash remains under investigation.

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