At the young age of 23, Longwood University lost alumna, Melissa Haislip. She passed away June 18 in a fatal car crash on the 5000 block of Osbourne Turnpike in eastern Henrico, according to police. That Saturday evening, June 21, a candle vigil was held in her memory.
Anyone who had anything to say about Haislip spoke of nothing but love and positivity. “She was always ready for a good time,” said Jessica Lockhart and also described her former sorority sister as “the life of the party.” Lockhart fondly remembers her first memories of Haislip in Curry Residence hall, “She always seemed to intimidate people at first but once you broke through that outer layer you couldn't help but love her. From that first impression I never thought she would become my roommate and my best friend.”
Morgan Williams, who had known Haislip since they were 3-years-old, spoke to Curtis McCloud of NBC-12 about some of the memories the two had shared at Dorey Dog Park. Williams said, "We went to camp here when we were little, we took are dogs here, we walked, we hung out here." She says it’s hard to believe that after all the laughter, jokes, and tears, the young woman she called her sister is gone.
Taylor Dix, another friend of Haislip, told CBS-6, “She was someone who could always make you laugh, no matter what.” Dix went on to tell reporters, during the vigil, that she hopes other drivers take this target as a message to be safer on the roads. With tears in her eyes Dix said, “I never want another person to feel the way I feel right now.”
Haislip was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority. She attended Antioch Baptist Church, early in life, and later, New Bridge Baptist Church. She graduated from Longwood with her BSN in nursing and later started working at St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond.
“I will forever cherish and share with others even those memories we shared after our college years,” Lockhart said. “I can't help but cry, but I also can't help but smile from all the lives she touched...She will forever be in many hearts especially mine and no one will be able to take that special place.”
