McCarron pays tribute to teen's life

Published Sep. 28, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

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Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron dedicated Saturday's game against Ole Miss to a teenage girl named Olivia Mills and her family.

Mills was in an auto accident last Sunday in which she lost control of her car and crashed, leaving her in a coma. More than 40,000 people were following a Facebook page for the 17-year-old senior at Sipsey Valley High School in Northport, Ala. Friends posted updates about her condition to the page, and sadly, the latest indicated the worst, with people offering condolences:

This is the most recent post on the Facebook page as of 5:30 p.m. ET:

Under His leadership, we feel that God has chosen to keep Olivia for himself to be with Him forever. As her last act of self sacrifice, she will be giving life to 7-8 people with her organs that she was a perfect steward of. A miracle DID happen this week. It happened in all of you and the countless lives she changed through her story. Olivia wanted to be a missionary, and we believe she fulfilled her calling. Our challenge to you, live like Olivia lived. Our prayer for you is hope. "I was created I give hope to the hopeless." -Olivia Ladson Mills

Mills was very active in the school, according to one local report. She was a cheerleader, choir member, volleyball and tennis player, among her many activities, and recently had been nominated to the school’s homecoming court.

Friday night's football game saw hundreds of balloons released and players wore purple socks and cheerleaders purple ribbons to pay tribute. Purple reportedly is Mills' favorite color, so McCarron chose the purple bow tie to honor her. He went 25 of 32 for 180 yards in the Tide's 25-0 win.

This local TV report has more details on the accident:

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