Texas teenager Alyssa Ramirez, the Homecoming Queen who had a "heart for God," was tragically swept away by the state's record floods after she left prom on Saturday night. She was only two miles from her home when the floods overpowered her car.
According to Randy R. Potts of The Daily Beast, Ramirez, a high school senior in Devine, Texas, located just south of San Antonio, was a busy student, participating in tennis and volleyball and becoming her school's Homecoming Queen, Student Council President yearbook co-editor. Her boyfriend, Cody Campbell, posted a photo and message on Instagram the day after she died.
"I don't get why things happen the way they do, but they do. Alyssa, you were an amazing human being," Campbell wrote. "Your love for God, your obsession with cats, and the funny things you would say-just to name a few. I was lucky to spend your last night with you."
Ramirez's aunt, Roberta Ramirez, recalled how her niece became caught up in a flash flood after leaving the high-school prom in San Antonio.
"She called 911. She called her father, but it was just too much and too quick," Roberta said.
Ramirez's Christian faith was evident in her Twitter profile, where she regularly made references to and directly tweeted Bible verses.
"I can spend the rest of my life beating myself up over everything I've ever done wrong, or I can accept God's forgiveness and let it go," Ramirez wrote on Twitter.
However, her last tweet before her death highlighted the fact that bad weather plagued many parts of Texas.
"The fact that we may be stuck in [San Antonio] overnight [because of] rain is so sad," Ramirez wrote on Twitter, adding a sad face on her message.
Ramirez's sister, Cynthia Ramirez, told Potts that she "had a heart for God like no one else," adding that Alyssa "inspired everyone around her to be a better person in the way she loved people." Pastor Mike Barrera of First Baptist Church in Devine agreed with that sentiment.
"Alyssa was very active in her church community," Barrera said of Ramirez. "There wasn't a girl or guy she didn't have time for. She was one of those kinds of kids I think was born with a smile on her face and it was just a blessing that she was A-OK with the Lord when she died, there was no doubt about that."
Barrera added that Ramirez hoped "to be an optometrist" after she graduated high school.
"I think she was number 6 or 7 in her class, so many things ahead, but we know where she is-and that brings us peace," Barrera said.
Ramirez's high-school superintendent sent a statement to The Daily Beast about her passing.
"We are at a loss for words in this tragic event," the superintendent wrote. "Our students, staff, and community have come together in love and expressions of faith in God to find comfort and help at this time. It is difficult to even know what to say to you."
The superintendent added that Alyssa "grew up on the ranch across the road from our ranch."
"Alyssa was a wonderful student and inspiration and blessing to all who knew her. She will be deeply missed by our entire community," the superintendent wrote.
According to the superintendent, Ramirez's funeral will be held today, and the school plans to hold a memorial service in her honor on Saturday.
