Schuttig, 14, a freshman at Damascus High School, was one of three teens seriously injured Dec. 26 in a three-car crash at the intersection of Clopper and Firstfield roads in Gaithersburg. She was flown by helicopter to Suburban Hospital, where she remained in critical condition until her death.

Schuttig's skull was fractured in the crash and she never regained consciousness. She was removed from a ventilator Dec. 29.

Erin Abretski, 13, of Gaithersburg, a freshman at Damascus High School, was also injured in the crash and flown to Suburban Hospital, where she remained Tuesday listed in serious condition.

Students at Damascus High School observed a moment of silence for Schuttig Jan. 2 and the school's spirit flag was flown in her memory. The school psychologist and guidance counselors spoke to Schuttig's classes last week and were available to talk with students in private.

"There was a steady stream of kids, mostly her friends, who needed to talk," said Hope Dieckhans, Damascus High School assistant principal and ninth grade administrator.

"She was a free-spirit -- she enjoyed life," Dieckhans said about Schuttig. "She was a very caring young lady."

A funeral service was held Thursday.

Schuttig, a Germantown native, was the only child of Len and Denise Schuttig. She loved animals, art, dancing and singing. She previously attended Rocky Hill Middle School in Clarksburg, Neelsville Middle School in Germantown and Capt. James E. Daly Elementary School in Germantown.

"She was very artistic and very intelligent," Denise Schuttig said. "... Anything creative or energetic, she was doing it. She lived life to the max." The teens were planning to go bowling or to the movies at the time of the crash, she said.

Tissue from Lindsay Schuttig's body was donated, including a heart valve, corneas, bone and skin, Denise Schuttig said. The family does not yet know how many people received the donations.

"She loved life and showed it in so many ways," Len Schuttig said.

Police said Schuttig and Abretski were passengers in a 1993 Toyota Tercel that was traveling west on Clopper Road at about 3:15 p.m. when a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee traveling south on Firstfield Road struck the passenger side of the car.

The Tercel then struck a 1996 Honda Accord that was stopped at a red light in the eastbound lanes of Clopper Road.

The driver of the Tercel, Michael Wayne Abretski, 16, Erin's brother and a junior at Damascus High School, was transported to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital where he was treated and released.

The driver and sole occupant of the Grand Cherokee, Scott Allen Kilgore, 28, of the 5400 block of Harper's Farm Road in Columbia, was not taken to the hospital, police said.

The driver of the Accord, Shannon Marie Lee, 25, of Gaithersburg, was not taken to the hospital.

Police are investigating the cause of the collision and no charges have been filed.

Police are asking anyone who witnessed the crash to call the department's Collision Reconstruction Section at 301-840-2435.