‘A walking angel’: Friends remember Winthrop student killed in weekend crash

Destiny Robinson knew something wasn’t right when she didn’t get a text from her Winthrop University roommate Alexus White on Saturday night.

Earlier that day, the two roommates exchanged hugs and tears while saying goodbye as White packed up the last of her items from their dorm room in Wofford Hall. The rising sophomore was heading home for the summer after finishing her freshman year at Winthrop.

“Usually she texts to say, ‘I’m home,’” Robinson said. “She didn’t that night. I just figured it was because she was excited and was unpacking her things.”

White, 20, was killed in a crash Saturday afternoon on S.C. 72 about six miles east of Whitmire, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol. Troopers say her Nissan sedan went off the right side of the roadway and she overcorrected, driving off the left side of the road and hitting some trees, where the car caught fire.

The fatal crash happened barely an hour after White and Robinson parted ways, promising they would see each other over the summer.

Robinson, who describes herself as a “realist,” said White was the optimist who always tried to see the good in a situation and was deeply rooted in her faith.

“She thought about everybody else except for herself,” Robinson said. “If there was something wrong, she pointed out that one thing that was right.”

Robinson recalled a day she was upset and crying about her chemistry grade. She spent several minutes outside their room trying to compose herself before entering because she knew White was inside.

“As soon as I walked in, she jumped up and started holding me, which made me cry even more,” she said, adding that White “knew automatically” something was wrong. “She just held me even though she didn’t know what to do. She held me and made it kind of funny, (saying) ‘I can’t do it, either.’”

White, who was pursuing a degree in biology, graduated in 2015 from Newberry High School, where she consistently made the honor roll and was a member of the National Beta Club, according to Winthrop officials. She was also active in her student government and was a member of the cheerleading squad.

“Today we think of you, Alexus,” Frank Ardaiolo, vice president for student life, said in a campus-wide email. “Thank you for blessing our community with your presence for far too short of a time.”

Ashley Grimball, 18, met White at the student bookstore at the start of the school year.

“Just being in her presence was kind of an amazing feeling,” Grimball said. “You always felt like you knew there was nothing but good things going on when you were around her.”

Grimball said White was always good for advice or a casual conversation but always made sure her schoolwork was done.

“We’d say, ‘OK, Alexus, let’s go out.’ And she’d say, ‘Who’s going out? Not me with this five-page paper,’” Grimball said.

Raven McCutchen, 19, met White through Robinson. McCutchen said she and White got along because they were both biology majors, and White wanted to go to medical school.

“Alexus was a walking angel,” she said. “She was never mad, she was never upset. She always smiled. She would never tell you no, no matter what it was.”

White loved music, especially hip-hop, McCutchen said, and she liked wearing her Beats headphones while walking to class.

The last time McCutchen saw White was Saturday as she was leaving Winthrop.

“She was walking up to get in her car to leave,” McCutchen said. “We hugged each other, and I told her goodbye.”

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 10:39 AM with the headline "‘A walking angel’: Friends remember Winthrop student killed in weekend crash."