It’s hard to focus on a bright future when life unravels its own agenda. For one spunky and intelligent North Long Beach teenager–Renaissance High School for the Arts senior Lindsey Logay–that agenda unraveled two weeks ago.
On Wednesday, May 15, Logay lost her mother, Elane Logay, when she was fatally rear-ended in a three-car pile-up on Carson Street near Long Beach Community College. The scene of the accident is across the street from Veteran’s Stadium–very location where Lindsey’s high school graduation will be held in June.
Logay shows resilience with slight stoicism in picking up the pieces left by the crash: raising her adolescent sibling sister, finishing her last month of high school, applying for college and scrambling for resources that aren’t there to give her mother a proper burial.
Overnight, Lindsey’s role shifted from being a carefree teen to a responsible adult. Paying attention to detail, researching the best pricing and tracking receipts for expenditures can be overwhelming for many young adults. But her blunt reality is this: She needs $4,700 to cover mortuary fees by Wednesday, May 29. Her mother did not have life insurance and the total cost for burial has created a price tag of over $13,000.
“The whole process of tying up a life is a little scary,” said Logay, who is heading into finals in the coming weeks and is also concerned with filling her mother’s shoes. “I got more growing to do.”
Raised as a latch-key kid by a single mother who worked several jobs to provide for her two daughters, Lindsey is now mothering fulltime and focused on providing some normalcy for her middle-school-aged sister.
However, even though she’s inherited Atlas-like responsibilities, she’s not doing it all alone–Lindsey has a strong community behind her. During these tumultuous times, her aunts and uncles have taken her in, and the aspiring actress and teacher thanks her close friends at school–who she says she pulls strength from.
“Getting this kind of support from the community really opens up your eyes,” she said. “You gotta be grateful.”
Lindsey gets her passion and love for art from her mother Elane. She grew up watching her mother mime, dance, write and recite poetry, act and direct theatre. As a child, Lindsey remembers her mother directing Little Shop of Horrors at Paramount High School. After watching her mother perform and direct, Lindsey was intrigued and told her mom, “I can do that too!” Logay’s teaching aspirations came recently–taking the helm in a student-run theatre ensemble on campus, she found teaching younger classmen to be fulfilling.
Despite the fact that she is currently dealing with closing out her mother’s affairs, raising an adolescent sister, all the while getting ready to receive her high school diploma, Lindsey’s overall goal is to become a renowned actor for stage and film and a teacher. She has several colleges in her scope.
A 21 year-old Bellflower man has been charged with one count each of vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident in connection with the crash that killed Elane Logay. He pleaded not guilty and is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Lindsey is asking for donations towards her mother’s funeral. Please send checks in care of Lindsey Logay at Renaissance High School for the Arts at 235 East 8th Street, Long Beach, CA 90813.
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