Lakewood friends recall “beautiful soul”
Teen dies after losing control of SUV on Interstate 70
On Saturday, 17- year- old Mackenzie Forrest went shopping for prom dresses with her mother before joining family and friends to celebrate one of her life passions— basketball.
“We had a wonderful day,” said Denise Forrest, Mackenzie’s mother.
But only hours later, Mackenzie Forrest lost control of a Toyota 4Runner on Interstate 70 near Frisco about 3: 25 a. m. and died in the single- car crash.
Denise and Holger Forrest spent the day Saturday with their daughter, watching high school girls basketball championship games on the University of Colorado campus in Boulder. They watched her interact with players, friends and coaches. The day solidified what they knew and felt about their daughter, nicknamed Lil Mac.
“We want you to know how Mac was,” said Holger Forrest. “She touched our lives, she touched a lot of other people’s lives.”
The Lakewood High School senior was a basketball superstar with a winning smile, a collection of colorful socks and a personality that won love and respect from friends and coaches.
During her time at Lakewood, Mackenzie was a four- year letter winner and the team’s alltime leading scorer. She planned to play at Regis University in the fall.
“Shewas an absolutely beautiful soul,” Mackenzie’s teammate, McKenna Bishop, 18, said Monday.
Mackenzie brought the same competitive drive to her studies that she did to basketball, said Chris Poisson, her coach.
When a Spanish teacher doubted that she was doing the best she could in the subject, Mackenzie was upset and worked to prove the teacher wrong, Poisson said. “She handled things in a competitive manner. If she was struggling with something, she would try to work it out.”
“She was amazing to coach,” Poisson said.
Prior to one game, Poisson said, Mackenzie offered him the notes she had made on the opposing team. “She said she watched the videos and asked me if I wanted her notes.
“Shewas the smartest player I ever coached. She studied the game more than anybody. She worked hard at the knowledge of the game. How many high school girls do that?”
She was popular with kids throughout the school, not just
her fellowathletes, Poisson said.
Terri Ward, girls basketball coach at Niwot High School, coached her in The Show- 2014, Colorado’s High School All- Star Games at the PepsiCenter, sponsored by the Denver Nuggets.
“Shewas the youngest on the team, everyone elsewas either juniors or seniors. She was the baby,” Ward said. “She just had that infectious smile, and she could shoot the darn ball. That is for sure.
“Every time I would see her, she would give me this smile and then this little wink, like, ‘ I see you, Coach.’ ”
Teammate Madeline Miller, 18, remembered that Mackenzie would arrive at school each day with a can of Red Bull in her hand and two more in her backpack.
Mackenzie, whose attire was often “far out,” loved socks that were colorful and loud, her friends said.
“She had 17 different color socks. That made me really respect her, because she would respect herself no matter how much crap we gave her for her outfits,” Miller said.
The socks “were cute on her; they were the visual representation of her personality,” Bishop said.
Her outgoing personality and knowledge of the game made her a leader, Ward said.
News of her death spread quickly through the state’s high school basketball community, Ward said. “She had played all over the state. A lot of kids all over the state had the same privilege that I did in getting to know Mackenzie.”
Following the crash, Mackenzie was taken from Summit County to St. Anthony Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her family has said her organs will be donated.
The Colorado State Patrol is investigating the crash.
Shewasn’twearing a seat beltwhen the vehicle rolled twice, and alcohol is suspected of playing a part in the accident, according to the State Patrol.
“You hope one other kid is going to learn something from this, and it will save one kid’s life,” Ward said.
Mackenzie’s parents said Monday they didn’t know the particulars about the crash. They said they take solace in knowing their daughter is an organ donor, and they plan to see that her request to be a donor is carried out.
“She had an amazing heart and a physically healthy heart,” Holger Forrest said. “She can still help others.”
A memorial service will be held at 2 p. m. Thursday at Christ on the Mountain Catholic Church, 13922 W. Utah Ave. in Lakewood.
Contributions may be made to macforrest33. com to provide basketball program scholarships for underprivileged children.
Her parents said Mackenzie planned to go to law school and become a lawyer, practicing as a child advocate.
“She loved working with children,” Denise Forrest said. “She was very kind, very selfless.”