'Senior Skip Day' Car Crash Leaves One Student Dead, Another Injured

Georgia officials on Tuesday said charges were pending against a high school student who on senior skip day lost control of her car and collided with a tree, injuring herself and killing her classmate.

Cristina Pavon-Baker, 17, was behind the wheel of her Mini Cooper with her Community Christian School classmate Makayla Penn, 18, on Monday when the car swerved off Interstate 75, killing Penn, according to WSBTV, a CBS affiliate in Atlanta.

The two teens reportedly were taking a trip to Southlake Mall to buy bathing suits for a spring break vacation. Pavon-Baker was seriously injured and taken to Grady Memorial Hospital where she is in critical condition.

The car hit a tree so hard that it was uprooted, WSBTV reported. Police claim the wreckage was so bad that officials had to cut the students out of the car.

Fred Banke, the headmaster at Community Christian School, asked for prayers and support for all those involved in the tragedy. Both students had just been accepted into the University of Georgia.

"Our CCS family is heartbroken and saddened by a tragic car accident that occurred this morning involving two of our students," Banke said in a statement, according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We ask our community to pray with us and with our students as we grieve this devastating loss. We also ask for prayer for the recovery of our injured student and healing for our school family."

Banke added that a prayer vigil for Penn was scheduled Tuesday night at Community Bible Church in Stockbridge. Grief counselors from the church will also be available to help grieving students and parents.